Today until Forever
by Nancyandned
Summary: Nancy and Ned in 50 situations since they first meet as kids. Multiple chapters containing snippets from Nedcy's relationship spanning several years with several mysteries and cases thrown in good measure! Written in both Ned's and Nancy's POV. Ratings might change based on later chapters! ;)
1. Chapter 1

"Oh no! We missed it!." Bess wailed as they approached the bleachers.

"Well I wasn't the one who left her phone in the locker and thought they'd lost it." Nancy replied as Bess playfully smacked her arm.

"But looks like no harm has been done.", she smiled nodding towards the field where a group of boys were jogging.

They had easily spotted Adam, his wild blond curls noticeable even from the distance. It was the day of the final tryouts for the football team and their friend had asked them to be there to cheer for him. Nancy and Bess had just finished their classes for the day but Bess had suddenly realised she didn't have her phone with her and they'd spent an hour looking for it and had thus missed the tryouts. But by the looks of it, Adam had already made it into the team.

"Thank God. Oh my god! Nan, look that's Eric, isn't it? The love of my life! He made it in too!"

Nancy chuckled. It had been just a week since they'd started high school as freshmen and Bess had already declared that it was time for her to find her soulmate. And she was sure it was Eric Evans.

"Bess, you know, nobody meets the love of their life at fourteen."

But she couldn't have been more wrong.

Just then they realised that the boys were taking a break.

"Come on." Nancy said getting up, "Let's congratulate him."

Adam was laughing with another guy when they approached and Nancy called out as they reached him.

But her voice caught in her throat when the other guy turned. He was talland well built. A good 6 inches to her 5'5". His soft wavy brown hair was tousled and he had dark eyes fringed by long lashes. He hesitated a second, his ears turning pink. And then he smiled at her showing the most adorable dimples making Nancy feel butterflies in her stomach. This. This has to be the most handsome guy I've ever seen, she thought.

And then Adam had his arms around both their shoulders.

"Nancy! Bess! Where were you guys? I looked for you."

"Well, Bess here thought she lost her phone. And congrats!", Nancy replied laughing as Bess swatted at him and tried to wriggleout.

"Ewww. Adam Reeks, you're only allowed to get your sweaty hands on George."

"Anywayyy, guys meet Ned, our newest quarterback!", Adam said clapping the cute guy on the back, "Ned, this is Nancy and Bess, the prettiest freshmen in River Heights High!"

"Hi." Ned said then and Nancy felt a blush rising at his husky voice.

Before they could reply though, they heard the coach holler at Ned and Adam about signing some forms.

"Shit. We gotta run. Don't wanna piss of Mr Erickson on the first day. Is George feeling alright? She texted me about the ankle sprain. Tell her I'll drop by the infirmary in half an hour.", Adam hurried, "And don't forget, party at my place today. Be there by 7."

"Won't miss it!", Bess and Nancy replied in unison as the boys waved them bye and turned to run.

But Ned had just taken a step before he turned.

"Hey, Nancy. You'll be at the party, right?"

"Yeah. Adam would kill me if I wasn't."

"I'll see you there then." he said with a grin that showed off his dimples again. And with that he was gone.

And Nancy thought, that she definitely, definitely would not miss it for anything.

He never knew his favourite colour was blue until he met her. She was wearing a light blue top over faded jeans and her hair was a red blaze that tumbled in smooth layersto just below her shoulders. And when she looked up and smiled at him a blush rising to her cheeks, his breath caught as he looked into the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

She had to be the most gorgeous girl he'd ever seen.

And then he mentally cursed himself as he felt his face growing hot. His ears were definitely pink by now.

Nancy. Her name was Nancy. Adam seemed very friendlywithher. He hoped to hell she wasn't his girlfriend.

It wasn't that the other tiny blonde with her wasn't pretty. But there was something about Nancy that drew him to her. He felt a strange urge to know her.

And she looked so familiar. Like he'd seen her somewhere but he couldn't quite place it.

They'd just said hi when the coach called them.

Within a jiffy Adam had said goodbye reminding them about the celebration party later at his house. Ned turned to go with him.

He never figured out what came over him then but he turned.

"Hey, Nancy. You'll be at the party, right?"

"Yeah. Adam would kill me if I wasn't." She replied with a smile that made her eyes twinkle.

"I'll see you there then." And then he ran back.

And he couldn't get to the party any sooner.

She was alone at the party wearing a black dress that stopped over her knees and made her red hair look like fire. She was looking intently into her phone, biting her bottom lip as she paced in one corner of the garden. And then Ned knew who she was.

Nancy Drew. Ned's mind flashed back to an article he'd read in the newspaper a

couple of months back. Teen detective exposes pet smuggling ring. The article had carried a picture of her and she had had the same concentrated look on her face.

She didn't look up until her was right next to her.

"Hey."

"Hi! Ned, right?"

"Yeah. You're Nancy Drew, aren't you?"

"And how would you have figured that out?", she grinned, a mischievous look on her face.

"Well, one cannot really not recognise River Heights' most famous detective." He grinned back.

"I solved one case.", Nancy laughed, "And congratulations. For making it into the team."

"Thanks. Tell me, what are you doing out here? I think I heard Adam and a couple more people inside were wondering where you were."

"Oh. I just had this sudden idea..and I needed a quiet place to think and figure it out." She smiled then, showing dimpled cheeks. "And I'm pretty sure you probably think I'm weird, sitting out here while there's an awesome party going on inside."

"You judge too quick, Drew. What I was actually thinking was that I'm pretty sure there's some awesome idea in that smart head of yours. Is it a new case?"

"Yeah. I've been trying to find a lead for over a week now. I still don't have any but I think I just figured out a pattern."

"What is it about?"

"So you've already met Bess, right? Well her mom, recently opened a catering business. They've been in business for about 6 months now. Over the last 3 months, somebody has broken in thrice and spray painted threatening messages in the office. Aunt Ellie was really troubled and she asked me to see if I could figure it out."

"What kind of messages? And is anything ever stolen?"

"Stuff like 'Get out while you still can.' And no, nothing is ever stolen. They did report it to the police. But obviously there are much more serious crimes in the city." She said with a shrug.

"Could it be a competitor? Someone who'd like her to be scared off from the business?"

"That's what I thought too. But that's the strange thing. Mrs Marvin is doing great but the business is still small. They don't do weddings yet. Just small parties and birthdays. Clarksons Caterers across the street is so much bigger and I couldn't see a reason why they'd feel threatened by competition."

"So what's this pattern you seem to have found?"

Nancy sighed then, her mouth set in a straight line.

"I feel like I shouldn't keep you from that party indoors. I must have bored you enough already."

"Are you kidding? You're one of the most interesting people I've ever met." The conviction in Ned's voice wasn't pretend. "Try me."

"Okay", she smiled, "I had this sudden idea. All the break ins always happened on a Friday night. I figured that was because the Marvins usually have family night then, so Aunt Ellie doesn't drop by to see if the orders for the next day are proper."

"But look", she continued, showing him her phone with the calender app open. She pointed towards the dates of the break ins "I just realised they were always on either the 2nd or 4th Friday of the month and..."

"And today is the 2nd Friday of the month." Ned finished her sentence.

"Yeah."

"Bess's mom isn't home?"

"Worse. They're in Chicago. They won't be back until tomorrow. Bess is staying with her cousin George."

"And you think, the culprit is going to strike again tonight."

"Yeah. I've been trying to get Bess on the phone for 5 minutes but it's unreachable. I've already looked through the house thrice."

"So you want to check out the shop now?"

"Yeah, that's why I need Bess. Someone has to keep a lookout in case I have to sneak in somewhere. I'm not really dressed for running.", Nancy said indicating her low heels.

"You think there'd be running involved? Also I think I saw Bess walking down the road with Eric Evans."

"Well, then she's not going to be back for a while.", she sighed again, "I can't even ask George. She sprained her ankle just this morning. Also no, Aunt Ellie would never have asked me to work on this case if there was any danger involved. But better safe than sorry."

Ned didn't even have to think before he replied.

"I'll come with you."

"Are you serious?"

"Why not? I have nowhere else to be."

The smile that lit up her face then made his heart race.

"Okay. It's not too far. Just a ten minute walk."

She was just about to turn when she remembered something and laughed quietly.

"This is so weird, Ned. You just offered to come with me on a stakeout while you could be having fun and I don't even know your last name."

"Ned Nickerson at your service m'lady." He grinned. "And about getting to know each other, didn't you say we had ten minutes to spare?"

"Then what are we waiting for, Nickerson?" She grinned back and together they walked out the gate.

Conversation had come easily as they walked. And he had been more than glad that she had been the one to start it.

"You aren't a freshman, are you?"

"No. I'm a sophomore."

She smiled. "Bess swore on her life that if you were a freshman, she would have definitely remembered. But how come I've never seen you around?"

"That's because I joined River Heights High just last week. I lived here till I was in 5th grade. Then my dad got promoted and we shifted to Chicago where we stayed for four years. I used to go to Mapletown Elementary up till then. Next time Dad got promoted, he took the opportunity of heading the brach here and we shifted back home to River Heights."

"Well that explains it. I'm sure I would have remembered you if I'd seen you earlier."

Ned's heart soared on hearing that.

"Do you miss Chicago?"

"No, not really. Obviously I had some great friends there and I miss them. But it's so close I can visit any time I want to. But my home's here and it feels so nice to be back."

"I understand. This is my home too. I could never imagine living anywhere else."

"How do you know Adam? You guys seemed to know each other quite well." She asked.

"We do. I've practically known him since I was a baby. He used to live just across the street from my place before he shifted to his new house here. He's one of my best buddies. Our parents are close too so we visited each other even when I was in Chicago. And now we're teammates too. What about you? You guys seemed pretty close."

"We are. It's a long story though.", Nancy chuckled playfully, "but to keep it short, let's just say the 4th graders and 5th graders had a field trip once and I punched him when he made Bess cry by pulling her pigtails."

Ned couldn't help it. He laughed for a solid minute before he could help himself.

"I get more and more scared of you, Drew" He winked at her.

"I'm harmless. Unless you get on my bad side." She winked back.

"Anyway", she continued, "My other best friend George, her real name's Georgia but she'd punch you if you called her that. I'm not even kidding. Well, her and Adam have been going out for a month now, so I've been seeing a lot more of him."

"George is the one with the short brown hair and crutches? I think I saw her sitting with Adam just before I left."

"That's her. Poor thing sprained her ankle during basketball practice. But don't call her a poor thing either." She laughed again.

God. She had such beautiful laugh. He wanted to ask her then, whether she too had a boyfriend. But he was nervous. Nervous to have his hopes crushed. Scared that she'd feel weirded out and they'd never even be proper friends. She was so unlike anyone he'd ever met in a good way and before anything he wanted to get to know her more, become her friend.

"So that's George and Adam, Bess and Eric. What about you, Drew?" He tried to keep his voice casual, tried not show how much he anticipated her answer.

"It's just me and my mysteries." She said her eyes twinkling.

"What about you, Nickerson?"

"Awkward double dates that have turned to even more awkward second dates and that's it." He smiled back. And that was the truth. He'd never really had a girlfriend. Some of his friends had just started getting into relationships only for the status but he didn't want to be like them. No girl had ever caught his eye. At least not until he had met Nancy just that morning, whose smile made his heart race in a way he didn't quite understand.

Before he could say anything else Nancy declared that they'd reached their destination.

They had turned from the streets with independent houses to one lined with pretty shops on both sides. Except a few, most had closed for the night.

"So this is the store. Follow me." She said.

They crouched behind a car that was parked at the entrance of an alley on the opposite side of the street. Anyone approaching the store would be in plain view of them although they'd be hidden.

"And now we wait."

They didn't need to wait long. They hadn't been there for 5 minutes when they saw someone in loose black clothes walking down the street. Ned felt Nancy stiffen beside him.

"Shit. My phone's dead." She muttered. "Ned, can I have yours?"

"Sure." He whispered, handing it to her.

The person had already reached the store by now. Ned was sure it was a girl now. Or a very tiny boy. Suddenly, the person looked around to see whether anyone was watching and their hoodie slipped off revealing straight hair in various shades of blue and pink. He heard Nancy take a sharp intake of breath. She was already leaning around the car, silently taking pictures with his phone as trespasser picked the lock and slipped inside, her backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Do you know her?" His voice was the barest whisper.

"Yeah. She's DonnaShitz. She works here on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I'd recognise that hair anywhere." She whispered back.

"Should we confront her now?"

"I'd like to but she's been an employee since the beginning and Aunt Ellie is really fond of her. I think she'd like to confront her herself. Anyway we have the evidence. There's no way she's getting away with this."

Donna came out just 5 minutes later. They waited a minute before following. But then they saw her turning into a shop at the end of the street.

"That's strange. That's Clarksons Caterers." Nancy said. "You were right, Ned. I think the motive was to get rid of competition."

"So Donna's working for the Clarksons?"

"The reason for that still has me stumped." And she suddenly cried, "Wait, I think I just got it. Donna's middle name is Clarkson, I remember her mentioning once. She is probably related to them!"

"Wow. So what do we do now?"

"Nothing more for us to do before the Marvins get back. But for now I think we have a party to attend."

And with that she turned, and he followed her back the way they had come.

When she gave him his phone back, it was open to his contacts where she'd typed a number.

"That's my phone number. Could you please send me the pictures?"

"Sure." And he tried to keep the goofy smile he could already feel building, off his face. She had given him her number.

"Hey tell me Nancy, when did all this start? How did you realise you were good at this sort of thing?"

She thought for a while before she answered.

"To be honest, I don't really know. Anyway,", she laughed fully then, "my dad blames himself. He says when I was younger, he always misplaced his glasses or his keys and I was always good at finding them."

They walked in comfortable silence for a while and just before they reached, Nancy turned to look at him.

"Hey Ned. I just wanted to say thank you. If you hadn't offered to help me, I probably wouldn't have been able to come and then I would have never been able to figure it out. I guess we're friends now, huh?"

"Nancy Drew, what do you even mean by 'Friends now'?", he mimicked a dagger through his heart, a mischievous smile on his face, "Did you just make me, a 'Not friend' accompany you on a potentially dangerous mission?"

"Emphasis on the potentially." She grinned back as they entered through the gate.

They found Bess pacing in the garden. As soon as she spotted Nancy she rushed and enveloped her in a hug.

"Oh my God, Nan. Where have you been? I was just taking a walk with Eric and my phone was on silent. When I came back I saw your missed calls and George said you'd texted her about checking out Mom's place. I was so worried. Oh hi. Ned right?"

Ned didn't miss the questioning look she passed Nancy as she saw him and realized Nancy and he had come together.

But before he could reply, Nancy spoke.

"Ned helped me on the stakeout. Bess we found the culprit." As Bess's eyes grew wide, Nancy continued. "And you'd be surprised. But first let's find George and then we'll fill you in."

Later Nancy, Bess, George, Adam and Ned had been sitting around the dining table. After a quick introduction between George and Ned, Nancy had described the entire incident while Ned had shown them the pictures. Both Bess and George had been greatly surprised but they'd all agreed that they could do nothing more than let the adults handle the rest of it.

Suddenly Adam clapped Ned on the back and chuckled, "So Ned, that's our Nan. You haven't even known her a day and she's already had you help her on a case. It's like she doesn't even have to look for mysteries. They find her themselves and beg her to solve them."

Ned had laughed heartily at that but then he'd turned to Nancy and said, "You know, that was fun. I'd like to do that again sometime."

And then he'd felt himself blushing too as he saw colour rising to her cheeks.

"I don't know about you guys but I've had enough mystery for a day. How about we go dance?" Bess said.

They'd all murmured their approval and moved towards the sitting room where Adam had hitched on some speakers. But just as they reached, the song had changed from upbeat pop to a slow, romantic song.

In his peripheral vision, Ned saw Bess launch herself into Eric's arms with an excited squeal and Adam help George onto the sofa and put an arm around her. And with his heart in his throat, he'd turned to find Nancy's beautiful blue eyes already looking at him

"Hey, Nancy. Would you like to dance?"

"Okay." And then she'd put her arms gently on his shoulders and he'd put his arms around her waist and as they gently swayed, he'd had a feeling that he'd remember this day for a long time.

They'd met again the next day during lunch and had realised that they had recess during the same time.

"Guess we'll be seeing each other a lot, Nickerson."

"Can't get tired of that, Drew."

And he had beamed.

She'd then explained that Bess's mom had confronted Donna who'd broken down and confessed everything. Clarksons Caterers had been struggling for a long time. Donna was Ms Clarkson's daughter. Her mother had never had to work both before or after marriage to her father but their divorce had forced her to fend for herself. But lack of experience had caused her to make bad business decisions and they'd lost a lot of money and they'd been forced to use up Donna's college funds. She had been working 3 jobs to try and save up. And then matters had been made worse when Mrs Marvin had opened her business just across the street. Donna had ended up taking up a job there and her mom had been okay with it frankly because it paid really well. But then she'd gotten more and more upset as Mrs Marvin's business boomed while they slipped deeper into debt. And th then she'd started with the threats only to scare them off. Mrs Marvin spoke to Ms Clarkson who had quite a breakdown. She'd never known her daughter was doing such a thing.

"Is she going to press charges?" Ned asked."

No. They feel the girl deserves a chance. Anyway Ms Clarkson had already been talking about selling the business unknown to her daughter. They'll be moving to live with her parents in Chicago by the end of the month."

"But tell me, why did she always do it on the 2nd Friday?"

"Because that's the only day she had her evening off from all the jobs she was working. The fact that the Marvins were always out on that day had just been a lucky coincidence."

.

.

.

And then he'd soon become a regular at Nancy, Bess and George's table during lunch. They were often joined by Adam, Eric and a few of their common friends but the four of them, and especially Nancy and him had become fast friends.

Then three weeks since they'd met, Nancy and Ned had been the only ones at the table that day and she'd said to him.

"Say Nickerson, what would you say about helping me out on another stakeout this weekend? Bess and George are visiting their grandparents and this case is quite a two person affair."

And he'd felt so happy when he'd replied,

"Always."

**_So guys, my first fanfiction! I'm in the process of writing tons about Ned and Nancy so they'll be more chapters soon :)_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just a little note about the setting. The stories are set pre Files/ Mystery but sometime in 2010s so it's AU. Also for future chapters I'm going to assume the good Nedcy stuff in the files happened but the bad ones didn't. Honestly I hated all the relationship drama. **

* * *

_The first time she'd hugged him had been on her 2nd case since they'd met._

It had seemed to have been a small case, just tracking down George's 10 year old neighbor's stolen cycle.

But it had been his idea that had led them to discover that the theft had been a part of a chain of robberies taking place in various parts of the city.

Just earlier that morning they'd discovered their final evidence and turned it over to the police. And now the culprits were already behind bars.

They had been walking back from Pizza Palace, to the parking area where they'd left their own bicycles. Ironically, the case had involved the four of them doing most of their investigations on their cycles as none of them were old enough to drive yet. Pizza Palace had served as the perfect haunt for them to discuss the case. Just around the corner from George's house, it was smack in the middle from Ned's, Nancy's and Bess's houses. And they had decided to celebrate the culmination of their case with a pizza party there.

Bess and George had already gone ahead to the far end of the parking lot and were now arguing loudly over their plans for the rest of the weekend as they unchained their cycles.

"C'mon Bess. I haven't played tennis in ages."

"Gosh George. I've probably cycled a 100 miles in the last week. Can we please just spend the weekend doing something non sporty?"

Ned chuckled, "You know sometimes I find it strange that they are first cousins."

When Nancy did not reply he looked at her and saw that she had a far off look in her eyes.

"Penny for your thoughts, Nan."

She didn't say anything, just lightly touched his arm and when he'd fully turned towards her, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his waist.

He was taken aback for a second and then he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, her head tucked below his chin and he could feel her smile at his chest, he could smell her flowery shampoo. God, she smelled so great.

And then just as soon, it was over and she had unwrapped herself from him.

"Woah Drew, what was that for?" He could feel his voice had become husky again but he couldn't help it.

"For being an amazing detective. And an even better friend. Thank you so much Ned. I mean it. This is the second case I would never have been able to solve without you." Her eyes shone as they looked up at him.

"Hey, what are friends for?"

And just then they had heard George's voice ringing out ahead of them.

"Hey Nancy, Ned. Could you hurry up and talk some sense into Bess, please?"

It was soon followed by Bess's shout. "Well it's not me, it's George who needs talking to."

And Nancy and Ned both chuckled at each other as they hurried to join their friend.

* * *

_The first time he'd visited her house had been on a cool day in early November._

Midway through October Nancy had caught the flu from her father and had been forced to stay at home till she recovered and was no longer contagious. Nobody had been allowed to visit her, not even Bess and George. They'd talked on the phone a few times and she had sounded miserable that she'd missed even Halloween.

But Bess had been more upset. They'd decided a long time back that they'd dress up as the Powerpuff girls.

"This is unfair." She'd whined almost every time he'd seen her in the week leading up to Halloween. "We didn't even have to try and dress up you know. It's like it was made for us. I'm blonde, George's dark haired and Nan's a redhead. And we'd already checked out the costumes."

He smiled as he hurried to the cafeteria. Nancy was back in school today. He'd wanted to catch her before class but his mom's car had broken down on the way to school. He'd reached late and missed her in the process. He quickly grabbed his lunch and looked around to find that Nancy was just about to sit with George on the far side.

"How's the sick detective?" He tousled her hair with his free hand before slipping into the seat next to her.

"Much better than I've been in the last couple of weeks. It was sooo boringgg. I missed you guys."

"We missed you too, Nan." Ned looked at her intently. There were still dark circles under her eyes and she might have lost a pound or two but he was glad to note that that the colour was back in her cheeks and she was grinning from ear to ear.

"No kidding." George said, nodding emphatically. "Even Bess started looking for mysteries. Life's more fun when you're around Nan."

"Speaking of Bess, is she still mad about Halloween?" Nancy asked.

"You bet. I'd say she'll be okay only if you apologize to her for catching the flu." George laughed. "Anyway, she's helping Mrs Fitzgerald put up the flyers for the drama club and she asked me to grab her lunch for her. You guys catch up, I'll be right back."

Once George had left, Ned turned towards Nancy and asked, "How were classes Nan?"

"Everything was fine..." She trailed off and then pouted "except Chemistry. So much has been covered when I was away and I didn't get anything, Ned. It was like he was speaking a different language. I honestly don't know how I'm going to do today's homework and prepare for tomorrow's quiz. I tried to catch him after class to ask him whether he could help me out with the missed work but he'd had an urgent call and left in a hurry."

Ned smiled internally. Most of Nancy's time was spent solving mysteries but she was still an A grade student. He found it adorable when she stressed out about normal things, like studies.

"I could come over to your place and help you with your homework, if you'd like. Chemistry's one of my stronger subjects." He suggested.

"C'mon Ned, don't be so modest. Everything's your strong subject. You're always top of your class. But you sure it won't be a problem?"

"Of course not. I'm anyway hanging out at Matt's place after school. I guess he lives just two blocks down. Does 5 sound alright?"

"Yeah perfect. Thanks Ned." She smiled up at him and handed him the piece of paper she'd scribbled her address into. "Call me if you have trouble finding it."

He didn't have trouble finding it. Her house was large and built quite in the style of his own house, just before the turn of the century. "Drews" the front gate had announced. He rang the bell. Nancy opened it just a moment later.

She was wearing jeans and a light green oversized sweater and her hair was in a loose messy bun. There was flour on the tip of her nose. She's always so awfully cute.

"Hey Ned! Come on in."

Her house was gorgeously decorated yet it was homely, he noted as she led him to the den. And it smelled like heaven.

"Mmm. What's that wonderful smell?"

"That'd be my Hannah's world famous chocolate cake." Nancy laughed.

He knew about Hannah. She'd been the Drew's housekeeper and Nancy's surrogate mother ever since her own mother had died.

Just then a plump middle aged lady wearing an apron came into the room. Nancy introduced them.

"Oh Ned dear, I'm so glad you're here. Nancy's talked so much about you." Hannah said, her kind eyes twinkling. "Now tell me dear would you like to have some chocolate cake? Nancy and Carson have been too sick to eat for the last few days and I haven't had anyone to feed."

"Oh Hannah I thought you'd never ask."

Hannah laughed and hurried out of the room. To the kitchen, he secretly hoped.

"Hey Ned, why don't you make yourselves comfortable? I'll just go grab my books."

He was about to sit down on the sofa when he noticed the pictures on the wall. From a distance it had looked like they were of Nancy. But as he looked closer, he realised the woman was older. She had the same red blonde hair as Nancy's but it was longer and her eyes though blue were a different shade than Nancy's. In many of the pictures, she had been cradling a child who he had no doubt was Nancy. His eyes had just shifted over to a wedding picture when noticed someone's presence beside him.

"That's my mom. She died in an accident when I was three."

"I'm so sorry."

When she nodded, he continued, "You look just like her."

"That's what I've heard." She said with a sad smile and led him to the sofa.

They had been pouring over chemical equations for an hour when Carson Drew came in.

"Nancy, honey, have you seen the green folder I left..."

He stopped abruptly when he spotted them.

"Dad, I think it's on the table there on the desk. Also, meet Ned! He's helping me with my Chemistry homework."

"Ned, son, it's so nice to finally meet you. Nancy's really fond of you." Mr Drew was tall and handsome, with brown hair and eyes the same colour as Nancy's. Ned could imagine him, strong and powerful in the courtroom but now all he could see was kindness in his eyes.

"Yes sir. Nan's one of my best friends too." He said shaking Carson's hand in a warm handshake. But Mr Drew was looking at him quizzically, his head slightly cocked to one side.

"Tell me son, you won't happen to be related to James Nickerson, would you?"

"He's my father, Sir." Ned replied, confused at the huge smile that lit up his face.

"You look exactly like James did back in high school. He and I went to school together. Even played baseball in the same team. I knew he had a son named Ned but I couldn't have ever guessed my daughter was friends with the same one. I heard he was back in town but I've been so awfully busy I haven't had the chance to drop in yet. You all settling down fine?" Carson explained.

"Yes Sir. It's just been two months but it feels like we'd never left."

"That's great. I have to rush again but do give my regards to James and Edith. Bye Nancy. Study hard, kids." And with that he left.

Later after they'd finished studying, Ned looked over at Nancy.

"You know Nan, I've read so much about your dad and his cases I was really prepared to be scared. But he seems nice."

"Oh you should see him when he means business, in court. But at home he's a mushball. Much like me." She gave him a sideways wink.

"But Nan, you're always a mushball." He winked back and then tickled her.

A fierce five minute tickling match later, she'd pinned his arms on either side of his head and was half kneeling over him.

"I win. Now you know I mean business." She said panting a little.

Ned could have easily flipped their positions but all he could think of was how her face was inches from his and her hair had come undone and she looked just so awfully pretty. He never knew losing could be so much fun.

* * *

_The first time he'd seen her cry had been on a cold, gloomy day in late March._

Bess and George had invited some of their friends for skating. He'd noticed that Nancy had been unusually quiet but when he'd asked whether she'd like a ride home, she had smiled and said yes.

He had known from the beginning that he had a crush on her. But ge knew now that it was more. It had taken him months to figure out his feelings for her. After all, she was one of his best friends. But now he didn't have an ounce of doubt left.

Ned drove slowly. He'd turned sixteen just a couple of weeks back and the car had been a present from his parents. Although he'd cleared his driving test in the first attempt, he was still getting the hang of it.

Nancy had relapsed back into silence as soon as she'd entered the car.

Maybe she's not feeling well. He thought.

Deciding not to pursue lest she become more upset, he turned to say goodbye once they'd reached her house. But she spoke before he could say anything.

"Would you like to stay for a while, Ned? We could watch a movie or something."

"Okay."

He was surprised to note that neither Hannah nor Mr Drew were at home. They'd started watching a comedy but Nancy hadn't even smiled once.

Midway through, Ned couldn't take it anymore. He switched off the television.

"Nan what's the matter? I haven't heard you say three sentences."

He'd moved to touch her chin and turn her face towards him but he was taken aback by the amount of hurt he could see in her eyes.

And then the first tear drop fell.

He handed her his handkerchief with his free hand but she made no attempt to use it so he wiped of the tear with the ball of his thumb.

"My mother died today. Eleven years ago."

He hadn't had anything to say that could justify that amount of pain so he just squeezed her hand.

"Tell me about her."

The saddest little smile flitted across her face for just a second.

"My parents met on the first day of Law school. Dad says he was blown away when she rushed into class, late because she was out looking for her friend's lost cat. But it was almost a year before she agreed to go on a date with him. And then they were together. Dad wanted to get married right after they'd finished school but she wasn't ready. She wanted to start her career, independently. They joined the same firm, though. They got married over 3 years later and she became Katherine Drew. By then, Dad had already started his own firm and she joined him. You know, she's the second Drew from 'Drew and Drew'. Mom was an amazing lawyer. I've read her cases, Ned. Dad has saved every single file in his study. But, something came over her when I was born. She wanted to spend more time with me. Dad says she hated to leave me behind when she had to leave town for work. Hannah who joined us when I was three, took good care of me but Mom still wanted to be there herself. She decided to quit her job once I turned four. She was killed in a hit and run accident 3 weeks before she could."

The tears were falling hard now.

"I was there with her that evening. Eyewitnesses said she pushed me off but she died on the spot. I don't remember any of it, Ned. I don't remember being in the hospital. I don't remember the funeral. But I remember the before, her singing me to sleep, tucking me into bed, dropping me off for playdates in George's or Bess's house. And I remember the after. Dad hugging me when I woke crying for her, Hannah trying her best to make me pancakes that tasted just like the ones she used to make for me every Sunday. And I'm grateful for that. Dad has been the best father I could've asked for, always there for me. But not today. I knew Mom for about 4 years but he knew her for over ten. I've lost count of the times I've found him reading Mom's letters or staring at her wedding dress. No, today he's going to work so much, he won't get time to think. And Hannah would have been here if her sister hadn't fractured her knee. And Bess and George, they always find some way to keep me company today. They did so again despite the fact that they're leaving for their cousin's wedding right after."

"I'm thankful for them. But I miss her so much it's unfair. I've had dreams you know, her looking down at me and telling me everything is fine just like she used to when I had nightmares. But sometimes it's not her, but it's me looking down. It hurts to remember her, Ned and it hurts to forget. You know, she never got the chance to drop me off at school on my first day. She wasn't here when I was sick, she wasn't here when I won my first tennis championships, when I solved my first case, when I met you." Her tear filled eyes looked right into his.

"I'm not alone, I know that. But I feel so lonely sometimes."

And then he'd pulled her into his arms and let her cry into his shoulder. He spoke only when she stopped.

"Nancy, I'm not going to tell you it's okay because it is not. You mom would be so so proud of the person you've grown up to be. Maybe it'll get better. Maybe it'll stay the same. But however it is, we're here for you. Your father, Hannah, George, Bess, the dozens of people you've always helped. Me.

And I swear we'll never let you feel alone, never let you feel any absence. Not today, not ever. I promise. We love you, Nan. Now, why don't you go wash up before Santa comes looking for Rudolph?" He gently flicked her bright red nose with the tip of his finger.

And when a slow tentative smile crinkled the corners of her mouth and finally reached her eyes, he mentally swore on his life that'd he'd always keep his promise.

* * *

**So that's the second chapter. I'm already halfway through the third and I have enough ideas for at least ten ;) Hope you liked it! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Since Ned got his series of firsts, it's just fair that Nancy get hers too. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_The first time she'd gone to his house had been in early December._

"Uh huh, okay. No, you don't have to come. Hannah, don't worry I'll find a ride home. You just get home safely, yourself." Nancy murmured into the phone as she and Ned walked out of school.

"What happened?" Ned asked as she cut the call.

"Hannah's car skidded on ice while she was on her way here. The tires went over some stones and two of them are flattened." She explained.

"Oh no! Is she alright?" Ned asked worriedly.

"Yeah. She's fine. But she called the shop and they said it'll take them at least an hour to come get the car. Turns out there were a lot of such incidents today with the road conditions. Dad's out of town so he can't come pick me up either."

"I'll have to find another ride. George and Bess already left with Bess's mom so that might mean Geoff's still around..."

Geoff was George's older brother, a senior. He'd chaffeured the three girls enough times for her not to feel awkward asking him for a favour. She unlocked her phone to call him but Ned stopped her by speaking.

"Nan, you could come with me. Ashton's dropping me off. We could hang out at my place for a while and then one of my parents could drop you off. It's Friday and I don't have any plans."

"That sounds perfect, Ned." She looked up to see that he was already smiling down at her.

Ned's house was located in lovely green neighborhood in Mapleton, one of the localities in River Heights. The house was big and built in the same architecture as her own.

As Ned unlocked the door with his key, they were met by a woman in her late thirties or early forties. She had shoulder length blonde hair and was about the same height as Nancy's. Her pretty face lit up with a huge smile when she saw them. The corners of her blue eyes crinkled the same way as Ned's.

Before Ned had a chance to introduce them, she'd enveloped Nancy in a quick warm hug.

"You must be Nancy." She said, taking her hands. "Ned here is quite fond of you."

"I'm quite fond of him too, Mrs Nickerson." Nancy smiled back. Ned's mom had such a warm air around her that Nancy had liked her immediately.

"Please sweety, call me Edith. Now kids you must be famished. Does hot chocolate and marshmallows sound good?"

"Perfect!" Nancy and Ned said in unison.

They'd settled down on the couch and Ned was flipping through the channels on the TV when the picture wall on her right caught Nancy's eye.

Just then, Edith came into the room carrying two mugs of hot chocolate and marshmallows. She must have noticed her looking at the pictures because she spoke.

"Nancy dear, I think I know something fun we could do. Would you like to see some of Ned's baby pictures?"

"Mom.." Ned began to protest but Nancy interrupted him.

"That'd be cool! I'd love to see baby Ned." She said poking him playfully on the side.

If Ned was hot now, he was adorable as a baby, Nancy thought as she looked through the albums. His dimpled smile and thick brown hair looked up at her from every picture.

And then she came across a picture that made her laugh. Ned was about two years old in it. The picture had been taken from the back against a background of the sea. Ned was looking back at his behind with a forlorn expression on his face. He was butt naked.

Edith laughed along with her.

"This is from when we took that vacation to Australia about fourteen years ago. You know, we never really got to figure out how Ned managed to get a sunburn only on his behind." She explained.

"You look like a baboon!" Nancy giggled, looking at Ned playfully.

He was blushing. It always started from his ears, she'd come to realise that. And he looked awfully cute.

"Mom, I told you Nan's an amazing detective. Maybe, she could figure this one out too." He said, chuckling along now too.

"But some things are better left a mystery." Nancy smiled.

An hour of chatting later, Mr Nickerson came home wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase.

James Nickerson was tall and strikingly handsome with a square jaw and broad shoulders. His wavy brown hair still hadn't greyed and his eyes were the same warm brown as Ned's. When he smiled, she noticed that he too had deep dimples.

Nancy was astounded to notice the resemblance between Ned and his father. He was almost a carbon copy.

Ned introduced them and explained about Hannah.

"Ah. Carson's daughter. I've been waiting to finally meet you." Mr Nickerson said in a warm voice. "Edith and I met your father by chance while we were out for dinner a couple of weeks back. It was really nice to catch up again. How is he?"

"Yes Mr Nickerson. He said it was great to see you too. He's currently in Seattle for business but he'll be back on Sunday."

"I see. I assume you'll need a ride back?"

"Yes, Mr Nickerson. I was just about to call Hannah to come pick me up. I'm sure her car's done by now."

"Oh don't bother her." He smiled. "Edith and I have some Christmas errands to run. We're going that way. We'll drop you off on the way. Just give me fifteen minutes to change into something more comfortable."

The ride back was pleasant with steady conversation between James and Edith in the front and Ned and her at the back.

"Sweety, it was so nice to get to know you." Edith said when they reached her house.

"Yes, dear." James added. "Please drop by anytime you'd like."

"Bye Nan!" Ned said, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze. "I'll see you in school on Monday."

Nancy smiled as she walked into her house. Mr and Mrs Nickerson were such wonderfully nice people, it was no surprise that Ned had turned out to be so amazing. And something told her, she'd be seeing a lot of them.

_The first time he'd held her hand had been just before Christmas. _

They'd gone to the River Heights Winter Fair where Bess had dragged Eric to the snacks stands while George and Adam had gone ice skating.

Nancy and Ned had decided to check out the rides.

She had been idly wondering whether he would like the Christmas present Hannah and she had bought for him earlier that day, a teal cashmere sweater, when he suddenly spoke.

"That one looks fun." Ned pointed towards a mass of twisted steel with chairs which now held a screaming bunch of people hanging upside down high up in the air.

"The Death Machine. I can't think of a worthier name." Nancy chuckled. "But I bet it's not as scary as it looks."

But she had been dead wrong. As the ride started and she shot up at breakneck speed, she felt like her insides were in a blender.

I really shouldn't have had that hotdog. She thought ruefully, peeking a sideways glance at Ned who seemed be enjoying to the fullest.

Well it's just 7 more minutes, she thought, gripping the safety bar tightly.

"Don't tell me, Drew. You're scared!" Ned was shouting but she could still hear the amusement behind his voice.

"Umm maybe." She shouted back.

And then Ned had taken one of her hands and held it tightly with his own. He had long fingers, she'd noticed that before but the warmth surprised her. All too soon, the 7 minutes were over.

He'd dropped her hand only after the operator had come and unbuckled them.

"You know, Nickerson, that wasn't so bad. Maybe we should go again." She said looking up at his dark brown eyes.

"Well, I did quite enjoy it." His eyes glinted mischievously and he immediately held her hand again.

It worked, Nancy thought happily as they walked hand in hand back to the ticket counter.

_The first she almost kissed him was the day after her fifteenth birthday. _

She'd had a small party at her house to celebrate but there had been a lot of food leftover so the next day being a Sunday, Hannah had called George, Bess and Ned for lunch.

"Hey George, do you think you could carry me? I ate so much I can't move." Bess said as Mrs Marvin honked her car in Nancy's driveway.

"Negative. I'll be surprised if I manage to climb the stairs to my room myself today. Anyway, Nan thanks for the food." George gave Nancy a quick hug and the cousins left.

"What are they complaining about? Hannah makes such amazing food, I could eat a truck full of it." Ned said, from the couch.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Nancy teased him. "You're a bottomless pit."

"What can I say I'm just a guy who loves food." Ned grinned. "I'd love to stay around, Nan but I still have some homework left to do so I should get going."

He started rising from his position but plopped down again.

"Oof. There might be some truth behind what George and Bess said. I might have overestimated my abilities. I'll need five more minutes." He said in mock seriousness, rubbing his stomach.

Nancy laughed.

Ned's phone rang then. It was his mom.

As he spoke to her, Nancy looked over at him.

He was wonderfully gorgeous with his chiseled jaw and broad shoulders. His dark eyes hooded with thick lashes, his dimples, his generous mouth, his mouth...

She'd imagined him kissing her, more than once. She'd blamed it on hormones in the beginning. After all, he was a friend. And definitely, one of the best guys she'd ever known. His birthday present to her had been so thoughtful she'd almost cried. Her favourite author's new mystery novel had released around ten days back. The reception had been unprecedented so by the time Nancy had gotten around to go the bookstore, it had been sold out. She'd checked a few more stores but none had a copy left and it would have taken at least two weeks before they got the next shipment. But Ned had been to Chicago with his parents for the last weekend where the author was participating in a workshop. He'd not only managed to find a book but had also had it signed by the writer.

It hadn't been that Nancy had never had a crush before. But, every time before this, her interest in someone had died down within weeks, if not days.

However with Ned, it had only grown. Every time they were together, she'd felt so ridiculously happy she could burst.

She hadn't been the only girl around to notice him though. She'd been surprised at the pang of jealousy she felt when the cheerleaders cooed over him after football or basketball or baseball matches. But then, his eyes would find hers and he would forget everything and smile that dazzling smile and she would feel butterflies in her stomach again.

Hannah, Bess and George had known her for so long, they'd figured it out sooner or later. They'd tease her but she hadn't confirmed it to them yet. In the seven months she'd known Ned, he hadn't dated anyone and quite often she had caught him looking at her with a look that made her feel lightheaded. And then they'd look away and pretend none of that ever happened.

She had considered telling him about her feelings but every time she'd ultimately chickened out because in the end, if things got weird she'd hate to lose him as a friend.

"So that was Mom. I have to hurry. She wants me to run a million errands before I get home. Umm Nan, would you come with me to the car?" Ned said, getting up. "I umm want to give you something."

Nancy nodded and followed, wondering why he was being so shy.

At his car, Ned reached in to his glove compartment and pulled out a tiny box, delicately wrapped in gift paper. He handed it to her.

'For my favourite girl detective. Love, Ned' The tag pasted on top read.

"What's the special occasion, Nickerson?" She smiled up at him.

He ran his hands through his hair and looked away.

"Just something else I picked up from Chicago. I wanted to give it to you yesterday but I couldn't get you alone. Open it."

The gift was a keychain. Attached to the ring was small magnifying glass about the size of her thumb. Her name was etched on the handle. It also had a tiny flashlight.

"The magnifying glass is real. The flashlight runs on those mercury button cells and you can change the intensity and the beam with the slider. It's supposed to run for months without needing change. And if you twist the bottom of the handle of the magnifying glass, it opens a compartment where you can store extra cells. It's worrying how much you love investigating in dark, seedy places and it's even more worrying how forgetful you're about charging your phone. So I thought, this might come in handy some day."

"Ned this is the best gift ever." She smiled at him.

"I actually asked the guy whether I could get one with a few lock picking tools attached but he looked really suspicious so I just got out as fast as I could." He chuckled.

She laughed along with him. Her friends had been highly impressed when she'd managed to self teach herself how to pick locks over winter break.

She looked up to see that he was looking down at her with so much fondness in his eyes that it made her knees weak.

She wondered whether it would ruin them if she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him then. She started rising on her toes.

"Ned, dear, this doesn't happen to be yours does it?" Hannah called from the doorway, dangling Bess's new key chain.

"Yes Hannah, of course. That sparkly pink monstrosity couldn't be anyone else's but mine." Ned shouted back humourously.

"It's Bess's, Hannah. I'll return it to her in school tomorrow." Nancy called back.

She slid back on her heels. And when Hannah had gone back in, she gently wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Thank you, Ned. You're nice."

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"You're welcome, Nan."

She felt so safe in his embrace. Maybe she wanted more, but some things were just too great to risk losing.

* * *

**I know it's frustrating, Nancy and Ned not getting together but it's been really fun writing these friendship stories and I feel they'll give more meaning to their relationship in the future chapters. About them becoming a couple, maybe next chapter? ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

"I just don't get it, Nancy. What's wrong with Caleb Myers?"

Nancy knew even before she glanced at Ned, on the driver's side of the car, that he had that look on his face when he was really trying to figure something out. Lately, she'd seen a lot of it.

"Nothing's wrong with him, Ned. It's just that I'm not looking to date him and he should get that. Why are you so bothered, anyway? What are you? His wingman or something?" Nancy was trying to keep the exasperation out of her voice.

That was the truth, there actually was nothing wrong with Caleb Myers. Nancy had known him since middle school and he was a perfectly good guy with above average grades and a spot in the school's track team. Good enough, that Bess had admitted that she would have been thrilled if he had asked her out instead.

But he'd asked out Nancy. Not once. Three freaking times in the last two months, the last one being just an hour back in Linda Powell's pool party. She had rejected him as many times.

Nancy had hoped Ned would understand that she'd felt frustrated because Caleb wouldn't take no for an answer. Instead, he'd just been surprised.

"Why would you think that, Nancy? You know I don't know him that well. But I do know there's a bunch of sophomore girls in my class who're majorly crushing on him and I've heard only good stuff about him. I guess I just don't quite understand why you'd reject a pretty awesome guy when it's obvious he really likes you. Repeatedly reject." Ned replied, not taking his eyes off the road.

_Because I like you._

But Nancy couldn't tell him that.

"You tell me, Ned. There was Cindy Sinclair who asked you out back in like December, I think and Laura Donnell last month. And they're cheerleaders!" Nancy tried to change the subject.

Ned was quiet for a while.

"Maybe cheerleaders just aren't my type." He said quietly.

She wondered what his type was but was glad when he changed the subject to their plans for the summer. School was getting over in just about three weeks and they were all excited for the vacations.

"Do you want to come in for a while? Hannah could make us some lemonade." Nancy asked as he entered the driveway of her house.

He shook his head.

"I promised my grandparents I'll help them carry some stuff down from the attic."

"Okay, cool. Thanks for the ride, Ned. I guess I'll see you in school on Monday?"

She was just about to climb out when he lightly grabbed her arm.

"No, Nan, wait. Will you go out with me tomorrow?" He spoke in a rush.

"Uhh what? Sure, it's Sunday and I don't have plans. What do you want to do?"

But Ned, just shook his head.

"No, Nan. That's not what I meant."

"What do you mean?"

"You're the detective, Drew. I know you'll figure it out." She could see that now, he was fighting to keep the smile off his face.

And then she connected the dots.

He was blushing. The tips of his ears were scarlet. The thought she'd just had was so absurd, she'd almost laughed.

But he was still looking at her, and she knew her expression must have given away what she'd thought.

"Do you..are you asking me out on a date, Nickerson?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

He nodded, and Nancy could see his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Why?"

"Because I like you, Nancy. I've liked you for a long time but I just didn't know what to say because you're one of my best friends." He was looking away now.

Nancy flushed. She was sure her face looked like a tomato.

"I like you too, Ned." She didn't know what else to say so she shifted her hand till it was clasped in his own.

She saw surprise flicker across his face which was immediately followed by a bashful smile that made Nancy's heart beat harder than it already was.

"Wow. So is that a yes on the date?"

"I guess I already said yes." Her tongue felt so heavy.

"I'll pick you up at five. We could watch the new movie you wanted to see. And then dinner maybe?" He was grinning ear to ear now.

"I'll be ready."

She was out of the car by now, but at the last second she leaned back in and lightly brushed her lips against his cheek. He smelled like cologne with a slight undertone of chlorine, from the pool earlier.

And before he could say anything else, she was running back to her house.

* * *

Nervous would have been a small way to put it. Ned was _terrified_.

He had planned to ask her out almost two months earlier. But then, George and Adam had broken up without any warning and there had been an awkward two week phase when the two wouldn't even look at each other. Nancy and Ned had traded awkward glances in the cafeteria almost everyday before following their respective childhood friends to separate tables. They'd still hung out but it had felt somewhat weird, like they were going behind their friends' backs. Adam had mentioned more than once that one of the worst things you could do was date a friend.

That was before both he and George had realised that their friendship mattered more than their egos and they'd started talking again. Ned had then decided to wait a bit for things to get back to normal.

And then Caleb Myers had come into the picture. Ned had been more than glad when Nancy had rejected Caleb the first time. But the second time he'd just been surprised. From what he knew, Caleb was a good guy and he obviously cared enough about Nancy.

Maybe she really didn't want to date.

Last evening, he'd blurted out his feelings before he'd even had the chance to think about it. He'd instantly felt both relieved and infinitely stupid. She would never go out with him and things would definitely become awkward between them.

But there she was, saying yes, saying she liked him too. And she had kissed him on the cheek.

He had smiled to himself the entire day and his mom had caught on.

"Out with it." She'd demanded.

"I have a date." He had replied simply.

"With Nancy?" He had been shocked and she had answered his question before he'd had a chance to even ask it.

"Let's just say I know my son too well. I practically knew since you brought her here for the first time." She'd said with a wink and then her voice had turned serious. "Nancy's a wonderful girl, Ned. Treat her well."

He'd wondered about what he should wear. Jeans were too casual and he didn't want to dress too formal. In the end he'd gone for a well fitted shirt and trousers.

He was at her house now. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the flowers he'd bought for her, got out of the car and walked to the door. His heart was beating a thousand times a minute when he rang the bell.

Hannah opened the door.

"Ned! Honey, come in. Nancy's just getting ready. She'll be down in a minute. Oh those flowers are so lovely! Nancy loves tulips." Hannah smiled, ushering him inside.

Mr Drew was reading a file in the living room. Ned realized then that he'd never have had to talk to any girl's father before.

But their short talk was warm and cordial and he excused himself with only a message that Nancy should be back home by ten.

When Nancy came down the stairs, Ned was blown away. She was wearing a blue halter neck dress with low pumps. Her open hair looked red against the contrast. It made her eyes shine even brighter.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi. Thank you for the flowers." She smiled bashfully as she took them and arranged them in a vase. Then she came and linked her arm with his.

"Have fun, kids!" Hannah called out to them as they left.

They didn't speak until they'd left her neighbourhood.

"You look really pretty, Nan." He said sneaking a glance at her.

She blushed, her nose turning red.

"You do too, Ned." Then she turned to face him. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I didn't know how you felt about me and the last thing I wanted was to lose you as a friend."

"But now you know." She smiled shyly. "So what are we doing today?"

"Movie first. And then I guess it'd be time for dinner. I was thinking we could go to that new French place by the lake? My parents were there last weekend and they really liked it."

The movie he'd suggested was a mystery thriller. Any other girl, he would have suggested a romance. But Nancy was not any girl. She was just _her_. In any case, the movie was absolutely great and he felt a thrill go through him every time Nancy's face lit up when she made a connection before everyone else.

Ten minutes into the movie, her hand had brushed against his and he'd decided to go for it and hold it between his. She'd reciprocated with a gentle squeeze and he'd peeked to see that there was a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. The few times he'd held her hand, they'd always been cold. They were really tiny between his and he quite liked the idea of warming her up.

"That was the best movie I've seen all year!" Nancy beamed as they walked back to the car. "It was the sister all the time and nobody guessed it."

"Please, Nan. Don't be so modest. You definitely had it all figured out."

"No! Sure, I had my suspicions but I swear I wasn't sure until right at the end." Her eyes glinted mischievously. "You know Nickerson, the restaurant better be good. I don't think anything can top this."

But the food turned out to be even better.

"Okay, I take back my words. This is even better than the movie." Nancy sighed happily as they shared a chocolate soufflé. "I've got to tell Dad about this place. It really is beautiful."

"_Tu es belle._" Ned tried to imitate his best French accent.

"_Merci, mon chéri_." She giggled back.

"So Nancy, we still have about an hour before you have to get back home? Do you want to check out the lake?"

"What are we waiting for?"

They took the car and drove about half a mile to the entrance of the mile long park that surrounded the southern part of Lake Moirie. It was more the size of a pond than a lake but it was pretty and clean despite being almost right in the middle of the city although recently there had been a spurt of new lakeside properties on the northern shore.

"You know, dad and I used to drive out here for picnics when I was younger. Brings back a lot of memories." Nancy said, as they walked hand in hand enjoying the cool breeze. The park was empty. The lone night jogger had left right after they'd arrived.

"My dad once told me that when he was very young, a tributary of the Muskoka river used to run right through here. Then there was this really awful drought one year and the river almost dried out. When the rains came back the next year, they realised that the river had changed its course and left this lake here." Ned said.

"I guess things change all the time." She whispered.

"Do you think this is weird? You know, you and me, us?" Ned both wanted to as well as did not want to know the answer.

"I guess, it was a little in the beginning. But that's because everything is changing so fast. I mean yesterday we were friends, today we're on a date." They had stopped walking and she had her head slightly cocked to the side as she spoke. "But it's a good kind of change. I could get used to this."

"Me too." He whispered and she smiled shyly.

The moonlight glinted off her dark eyelashes and made her eyes look like sapphire stones. She looked so beautiful. _He wanted to kiss her._

"You have cream on your face." She giggled and reached up to wipe it off. He noticed she let her hand linger on his cheek a second longer.

"Thanks." He reached out to tuck one lose strand of hair behind her ear. And then he noticed it.

Her gaze had travelled down from his eyes to his mouth.

He cupped her face with one hand and leaned in slowly, so that she could stop him if she wanted to.

But she was kissing him back, the second their lips touched. His other hand had wrapped around her waist pulling her in closer while her hands were draped around his neck. It felt so sweet, yet so overpowering and incredible. They were both breathless when they parted.

"Wow. I've wanted to do that for so long." He whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

"How long?" She whispered back, her eyes closed.

"Practically since I saw you at football tryouts."

"Me too. And I guess now you know, why I never went out with with Caleb."

"I suppose I do." He smiled back.

"Do you have music on your phone?"

"Yeah I guess so."

"We should dance."

"You're a wierdo." He laughed.

Nevertheless, he took out his phone, put on a slow song, the sound turned down low so that only they could hear and put it in in front shirt pocket.

Nancy twirled in his arms.

"This was the song we danced to, at Adam's party." She said.

"We did? I don't remember."

"Oh shut up." She swatted his arm. "I saw you searching for this song, specifically."

"Okay. Okay, you got me. Cons of dating you. I'll never get away with anything." He grinned.

"You don't have to." She replied, hugging him.

At her door, he kissed her again, softly this time.

"This was really fun, Ned."

"It was. I already can't wait for the next time."

"There will be a next time?"

"Oh no Drew, you're not getting rid of me so easily. There will be many more times." He smiled.

"Many, many more." She smiled back.

* * *

**Wrote this one in a day! I really hope you enjoyed it. I have almost an entire month of exams coming up in college so I'll be taking a short hiatus from writing until the end of March. But as they said, there will be 'many, many more' chapters coming soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! College exams are over for a while so I'm back to writing. Hope you enjoy this one!**

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"Let me read, Nancy! I'm sure it's from Ned." Bess almost screamed as she and George crowded around Nancy's locker.

Nancy reddened as half a dozen heads turned in their direction.

They'd found a folded note wedged into the door of her locker when they'd stopped by between classes.

Gingerly opening it, she recognized Ned's neat cursive.

_Hey detective! Yesterday was fun. You looked really pretty. I'd say blue is my favourite colour on you :)_

_Sorry, can't make it to lunch today. Coach called in a meeting. Can you meet me after 5th period at my locker? If you can't, remember football after school today._

_See you!_

_Ned_

A warm feeling spread all the way from her head to her toes. She'd felt like this ever since her first date with Ned ten days ago. Although Ned could have quite easily just texted her, but he'd made a habit of writing her notes. Feeling as if she floating on a cloud, Nancy pocketed the note making a mental note to save it in the little box she kept under her bed which already held his other notes and the tickets to their first movie.

"Oohh." Bess cooed teasing her. "More love notes from Mr Boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend, Bess. We've been on like three dates." Nancy protested.

"That's probably more than you've been with anyone else." George cut in. "For once, I'm with Bess. I've seen him around you and he has eyes only for you."

"Thank you, George." Bess said dramatically. "Eric and I, we were just having some fun. Now George and Adam, they were being the perfect boyfriend and girlfriend before she decided she didn't like him anymore. But you two, I'll kill you if I'm not maid of honour at your wedding."

Both George and Nancy laughed as the three of them walked to their Biology class. Bess was a sucker for romance and she was often dramatic about it.

"I don't know, Bess. I haven't even kissed him yet."

"Cut the crap, Nan." George said. "We've seen you kiss."

"No, I mean I've never initiated it. Uhh, I don't think I know how to. What if we go the same way and our noses bump? He's so tall.. Or I trip and fall? Or.. I'll be mortified.." Nancy babbled on, her face growing hot. Mysteries intrigued her but the mystery of how she could confidently kiss Ned was still unsolved so far.

"It's not that hard, Nan. I'll demonstrate once Rick Wheeler realises I'm his soulmate." Bess said with a wink, linking her arm through Nancy's.

George shook her head while Nancy chuckled as the three girls hurried to their class.

All through the next few periods, Nancy's mind wandered to Ned. Why did he want to meet her? They would have anyway seen each other after school at the match.

She found herself sighing happily remembering their dates. The first one had been so perfect, she'd dreamed about it for days. The next day Ned had caught her right outside school and leaned in for a quick kiss. Nancy let out a little laugh remembering Bess and George's faces when they saw that. She'd just told them that she'd had a date with someone but hadn't yet had a chance to explain. They had looked like they'd seen a ghost.

"I've heard there's a Dr Morrison who's good. Old Mrs Devin's mom went a little loose in the head and that's where they took her." George's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Huh what?" Nancy asked confused, as she looked around her cafeteria table.

"Bess and I were just discussing which psychiatrist to take you to. You've been laughing to yourself ever since we got here and we're getting a bit spooked." George said seriously.

"I'll bet a hundred dollars she's suffering from New Boyfriend Syndrome." Bess said, catching and eating a fry Nancy threw at her.

George and Bess knew every little detail about all her dates. They had scrutinized and giggled over every kiss and every hug during sleepovers. In fact most of their close friends knew by now that they were dating. But they hadn't yet put a tag on their relationship and Nancy had wondered what they really were. _Was she his girlfriend?_

After fifth period, Nancy walked alone to his locker. He was putting some books in when she reached him.

"Hi!" She said sneaking up behind him.

"Hey!" His face broke out in a huge grin when he saw her.

"How did the meeting go? Was it about the match?"

"Yeah. It's a friendly. River Heights versus Muskoka High. Coach isn't too worried but he'd still like us to win because it's the last game before school closes. I have to get back to practice next period. You'll be there right?"

"Of course, Ned. The three of us always watch the matches. You didn't want to see me for this, did you?"

"No." He admitted. "I wanted to give you something."

"Oh."

Ned reached into his locker and pulled out something wrapped in plastic and handed it to her.

Through the clear bag, she saw that it was a jersey of the River Heights Roarers, their football team.

"Thanks, Ned. But I already have one of these. Almost the entire school does." Nancy said.

"Open it." Was all Ned replied.

Nancy gulped as she saw it. It was the team jersey but at the back, instead of the '00' and 'Go Roarers' printed in the one she already owned, this one had Ned's name and his number. It was exactly his jersey but in her size.

"Can you wear this today? It's okay if you don't want to but it's a tradition..." Ned trailed off, looking away.

She knew the tradition, alright. Players made their girlfriends wear their jerseys. Not friends, or best friends, or just casual dates. Always and only and strictly girlfriends. Last month, everyone got to know Mindy Wong was dating her now ex-bestfriend's ex-boyfriend, star linebacker Liam Woodley when she had arrived at the game wearing his jersey. Eric had given Kira Stevenson one a month after he and Bess had broken it off and Bess had shot her daggers with her eyes the entire game. Adam had tried giving George one right before they'd broken up but she'd refused as she'd been confused about her feelings.

If there was any physical way of putting a tag on their relationship, this was it.

"But aren't only girlfriends supposed to wear their boyfriend's jerseys?" Nancy flushed at how naïve she sounded.

"Aren't you my girlfriend?" He replied. She was looking away but she could hear the surprise behind his voice.

"I am?" _Stupid_. So stupid. Nancy mentally kicked herself. "Sorry umm, I've never really had a boyfriend before and I wanted to ask you what we were but I, umm, have never done that before either."

"I'm new to this too, Nan." He looked away sheepishly. "Really, when I asked you out on the date, I was really asking you to be my girlfriend. Would it help if I made if I made it official?"

Nancy tried to speak but the words did not form. That was so unlike her. Maybe George and Bess were right. Maybe she really was going crazy. In the end, she just nodded.

Ned took one her hands. There were still some students hurrying around them, on their way to their next class but all she noticed was Ned.

"Will you, Miss Nancy Drew agree to become my girlfriend and wear my jersey?" He asked, blushing.

"I don't know, what do I get?" Nancy grinned.

"The full on Nickerson charm and an unlimited supply of hugs and kisses." He grinned.

"Can't say no to that." She managed to croak out.

"Great." He looked at his watch. "Now, we better put this in your locker and hurry because Mrs Dabney is going to be extremely mad if I'm late for class."

He squeezed her hand again when he dropped her off at her English class.

"I'll look for you in the bleachers."

"That won't be too hard. I'll have your name on me."

"God, Bess hurry. I want a good seat." George urged as they weaved through the horde of students making their way into the stands.

They had stopped by in the washroom, so that Nancy could change but Bess had taken even longer to put on her makeup, so they'd ended up here just a bit late.

The game started hardly a minute after they'd sat down. Nancy's stomach did a flip-flop when she found Ned.

"Half the school's staring at you." Bess whispered into her ear.

Nancy glanced around. Bess was right. More than a dozen heads quickly turned away when she looked at them.

Her friend Stacy Brickman shouted "Nice outfit, Nancy!" Beside her, Eddie Fawn gave her a thumbs up.

Suddenly, self-conscious, she waved at them and turned her attention back to the game.

"I guess you and Ned were so close earlier, people didn't quite realise when you started dating." George remarked.

Their throats were already sore from cheering by the end of the first quarter.

She saw Ned remove his helmet and look around the stands. She waved when he found her. The huge grin that spread across his face made her feel giddy with happiness.

Twice, Ned was almost tackled. Nancy's heart leapt into her throat.

Then Ned scored the winning touchdown! Nancy felt she could burst with pride. _That was her boyfriend!_

"C'mon guys. Let's go congratulate them." Nancy said getting up.

She didn't wait for her friends to follow. She didn't even turn when her classmates yelled out congratulations. To her.

Ned was laughing with his teammates and a few cheerleaders were mulling around them but he broke into a run when he saw her coming down.

He reached her just as she jumped down from the last step into the field.

And then Nancy did something she was too scared to do just earlier that morning.

Standing on her toes, she buried her hands in his hair and kissed him.

She didn't care that half the school was watching, didn't care that his teammates were hooting and cheering in the background, didn't care when she heard Bess giggle and snap a picture.

She was kissing her boyfriend, and he had his arms wrapped around her. Nothing could be more perfect and she felt like she was the happiest girl in the entire world.


	6. Chapter 6

Love. It was a strange word and an even stranger feeling.

He loved his parents, his grandparents, his friends. But Nancy? That was a different kind of love.

He had never felt like this before. And for a while he hadn't been sure what it really meant.

But looking down at her as she talked animatedly about her recent weekend trip to New York to meet her aunt where she'd solved another quick case, he knew.

Her face glinted in the autumn sunshine as they walked hand in hand through the park. Her hair was the colour of the fall foliage.

It was too soon to feel this way, though. It was mid October and they'd been together for just about four months. The summer had been fantastic and they had spent so much time in each others houses that his mom had bought her a mug with her name on it while Hannah always kept aside a Tupperware of whatever delicious food she'd cooked, for him. He was a junior now while she was a sophomore and all their friends also knew by now that were really fond of each other. They'd spent so much time together, that his memories sometimes jumbled up the details of every date. But there was one thing he knew, had been certain of, was that he was falling, falling absolutely and hopelessly in love with Nancy.

He loved her.

"Earth to Ned." Her sweet voice broke into his thoughts. They were now sitting on a bench.

She reached up to kiss him on the cheek but he turned his face at the last second to steal a quick kiss on the lips.

He would never want to kiss another girl. He would never feel that way about another woman.

She blushed. She was still sometimes so shy with showing affection.

"So I was saying, I got you something from New York."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a small white cardboard box with a red bow on the top and handed it to him.

"Promise me you'll open it only after you reach home."

"Why? What's in it?"

"You'll see. Now promise. No peeking."

"Promise."

She smiled and snuggled into his shoulder and he put his arm around her. She smelled like spring.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, his fingers playing with her hair while hers traced gentle patterns on his palm.

If he didn't tell her, he would burst.

"Nan."

"Hmm." She raised her head from his shoulder, and her beautiful blue eyes looked right into his.

"I love you." He whispered.

He saw her eyes become round and then she laughed.

"Open the box."

His heart sank. She hadn't said it back. Worse, she'd laughed. He had to do something so he did what she said. He picked up the box from where he'd kept it beside him on the bench and opened it.

It held a stone, the perfect shape of a heart. Picking it up, he noticed there was something at the bottom of the box. Gingerly, he took it out.

It was a printed picture. Nancy was standing on her toes and kissing him. One of his arms was looped around her waist while the other by held his helmet. The jersey she wore had his name on it. He realised it was the picture Bess had snapped on the field, the day Nancy had kissed him for the first time. Turning it over, he saw that she'd written something at the back.

_I tripped over this stone at Central Park and it reminded me of you, because I've fallen for you too. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, Ned Nickerson, I love you._

_With all my heart,_

_Nancy_

As he raised his eyes to meet hers, she spoke, the biggest smile he'd ever seen plastered on her face.

"I love you too." Her voice was the faintest whisper.

And then she'd snuggled back into his chest, pulling his arm around her.

The wind had picked up and it's chilly force shook the trees around them. But Ned didn't mind. He had never felt warmer

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**_A very short story but this has been my favourite so far. If you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review._**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Nancy and Ned spend their first Christmas together as a couple._**

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"Hannah, do you really think he'll like the gift?" Nancy said, as she mashed potatoes in the kitchen.

"Yes, sweety. I may be old now but I know young love when I see it. You could give him an empty box and he'd still feel it's the best gift. Aah makes me miss the old days." Hannah sighed dramatically.

"Oh Hannah, you aren't that old. I'd say you don't look a day over twenty." Nancy giggled playfully.

"Hmmm. What's that wonderful smell?" Eloise Drew sniffed the air as she walked in.

Aunt Eloise was Nancy's father's younger sister. She was a school teacher and lived alone in New York but she was visiting River Heights for the holidays.

"That'd be Hannah's famous cookies." Nancy smiled at her pretty aunt.

"Hannah I've begging you for years. One of these days, I'll have to just steal your secret recipe." Aunt Eloise walked over to Nancy. "Now, honey, why don't you go get dressed while I help Hannah? Your friends should be here soon and I don't need to know a lot about kids to know that that young man of yours is going to feel terribly awkward if he has to spend Christmas day with his girlfriend's father and aunt."

Nancy thanked her and went upstairs to her room to change. Ned's parents had invited her over for Christmas but as Aunt Eloise had been in town, she'd declined the invitation. Instead, she'd spent Christmas eve with them. Edith was as great a cook as Hannah and she'd had a wonderful time. Nancy smiled remembering how it had felt to cuddle with Ned by the fireplace.

She decided to check and make sure all the gifts were wrapped. She had bought Ned a warm scarf made of the softest wool she could find. She knew it was a step down and not as costly as her gift for him last year but it was their first Christmas together and she'd wanted to buy him something with her own money, which she'd earned while babysitting with George and Bess over summer. Their first Christmas. She felt wave of thrill pass through her.

For Bess, she'd gotten a lip gloss set from her favourite brand and for George she'd bought the woollen skirt she'd been eyeing the last three times they'd been to the mall.

George and Bess were having lunch with their grandparents but they'd planned to drop by for an hour. Ned had volunteered to pick them up.

Suddenly the bell rang. Hollering to Hannah that she'd get the door, Nancy almost flew down the stairs.

Opening it quickly, she was immediately met with Ned's warm brown eyes. She'd come to associate them with chocolate, always sweet, always reliable.

His cheeks and nose were red from the cold and he was carrying a big bag of gifts.

Acting on an impulse she reached up and kissed him on the nose.

"Ooh cold."

He laughed and kissed her on the cheek. "Merry Christmas to you too, Nan."

"Uhh excuse me guys but if you're done with your PDA, Bess and I are kinda freezing out here." George's voice spoke out from behind Ned.

"Sorry!" Nancy giggled.

Letting Ned pass her, she wrapped her arms around her two best friends giving them a big hug. They were carrying many gifts too.

"Merry Christmas, guys!" She shouted as all three broke out in laughter.

She carried the gifts inside and then Hannah called her for some help in the kitchen. When she returned, her father was talking to Ned by their Christmas tree while George and Bess were already sprawled out on the couch.

"Nancy made that in playschool and almost broke her neck while attempting to climb the tree to put it on herself." Her father was saying as he pointed to a stuffed Santa hanging near the top of the tree. "It's been a Christmas tradition since."

Nancy smiled at the memory from when she was three. They had been given the pre-made Santas and all they'd had to do was glue on the cotton for the beard and draw it's face but she'd still managed to mess it up. She had a faint recollection of her mother fixing it up and promising to put it up on the tree.

Nancy felt a warm fuzzy feeling on seeing her boyfriend and her father bonding. Although they'd been together for over six months, Ned and her father had started becoming more comfortable in each other's company only recently.

She started walking over to George and Bess when they suddenly shreeked and ran past her.

"Eloise!" They'd enveloped her Aunt in enormous hugs.

"Oh how are my pretty girls?" Aunt Eloise laughed as she hugged them back.

She had known the two since they were toddlers and they'd accompanied Nancy multiple times on her trips to New York.

Aunt Eloise then walked over to Ned who stuck out his hand to greet her but she enveloped him in a hug too.

"You must be Ned! Now young man, I've wanted to meet you for so long since my favourite niece and my favourite brother are so fond of you."

Ned's face reddened.

"Now dear, I'm going to have to steal Nancy for just a minute because Hannah wants her."

When Nancy returned, Ned was sitting alone on the couch. George and Bess were nowhere in sight.

"Hey handsome." She whispered into his ear as she snuggled up next to him.

"Hey gorgeous." He whispered back putting an arm around her.

She loved how he smelled. He was a bit of a clean freak so his hair almost always smelled like shampoo and soap. She hadn't yet come around to asking what cologne he used. She couldn't imagine him smelling like anything else and that was one of the main reasons why she hadn't bought him some other cologne for Christmas like Hannah had suggested.

As much as she liked cuddling with Ned, her two best friends were still not back and she felt a bit guilty for ignoring them.

"Hey Ned, where's George and Bess?"

"I'm not sure. I was admiring your tree and when I turned they were gone. They're probably with your aunt."

"We'll look for them." He added getting up, and pulling her to her feet. "But before that I have something to show you. Outside."

Nancy was intrigued. What did he want her to see outside her own house?

They got their coats and went outside.

It had snowed the previous night but the sun was out now and everything shone a dazzling white.

Nancy found herself sighing at how beautiful everything looked.

"This is so pretty..." She started saying but broke off as a snowball smacked her right in the face.

"Whattt..." She looked around to find George crouching by a tree on her left. Bess was giggling a few steps behind. They were both armed with snowballs.

Smack!

Another snowball hit her shoulder, this time from the right. Ned had moved several steps away from her and was already bending down to pick up more snow.

"Traitor!" Nancy screamed, tearing after him.

A fierce snowball fight later, all four of them were sprawled out on the snow, tired.

"George, Ned and I planned this on our way here." Bess said between giggles.

Nancy replied by throwing snow at her friend's face.

They made snow angels and snowmen after that.

Exhausted, Bess and George went back inside to dry off before their parents came to pick them up.

Nancy started to follow but Ned held her back.

"There's something I actually wanted to show you." He said, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"If you are trying to put snow down my neck, let me remind you I have a brown belt in judo." She teased.

"Don't remind me." He groaned. "Getting beaten up by my girlfriend was not my idea of a fun date."

Nancy laughed as Ned propelled her towards the back of the house.

Once they were safely hidden from view, he took out a small box from his coat pocket and handed it to her wordlessly.

Opening it, Nancy found two small silver earrings studded with blue stones.

"I saw you looking at it when we went to the mall. So I went back the next day and bought it." He explained, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh Ned! Thankyou. " Nancy cried, putting her arms around his waist.

That was the best thing about him. Not the gifts but the fact that he noticed her. Took note of what she liked. The small things, the big things and everything in between.

"Anyway, Mom made me buy you gloves too though, since I happened to mention some time that your hands are always cold." He continued, grinning. "I couldn't quite tell her I like warming you up myself."

"Don't worry, Nickerson. We'll have plenty of opportunities for that today." She winked at him.

Suddenly he pointed up at the tree they were standing under.

"Did you happen to notice we're standing under mistletoe?"

"Another family tradition. Grandma used to put up mistletoe on all the trees and Dad continued. I don't think anyone's kissed under this for years. At least not since Mom passed away."

"Well, our first Christmas doesn't sound like a bad time to start our own traditions." He smiled, cupping her face tenderly. "I love you, Nancy."

Ever since they'd said it to each other two months back, Nancy knew why they were known as the magic words. They could warm her on the coldest day and make her happy on the saddest night. Even though, they'd said it to each other dozens of times since then, she knew the feeling would never fade. She would never want to kiss another boy. She would never say the same words to any other man. Because she loved him and she could see it in his eyes, the way he held her, that he really, truly loved her too.

"I love you too." She whispered catching hold of the lapel of his jacket.

And as he bent down to kiss her, she knew that a million couples would kiss under mistletoe on Christmas, but it would just be her and Ned under this old maple in her backyard and maybe that could be their own Christmas tradition.

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**_I hope everyone's at home, safe and sound :)_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_Nancy's first big fight with Ned doesn't end the way she thought it would._**

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They'd had their first fight just that afternoon.

Nancy tossed and turned in her bed unable to sleep. Her clock glowed showing her the time- 2:53am.

She was supposed to have hung out with him after school. But then she'd been so caught up with the case of the library vandalism that she'd just...forgotten all about it.

And when she, George and Bess had finally come out to the parking lot an hour late, he'd still been waiting for her.

Nancy had never seen him so upset and so... hurt. And then he'd been angry and had said some words she hoped he didn't mean. Then she'd gotten ticked off and added some more words that she definitely, definitely hadn't meant.

In the end, he had just left racing in his car, leaving her staring after him.

George and Bess had heard the whole thing and they had invited themselves over to Nancy's house. But despite their best efforts at cheering her up, it hadn't changed her mood and they left trying to assure her that everything would soon be alright.

But Nancy did not feel so sure. She had been angry in the afternoon but she'd realised it quite soon that it had been her fault. He wouldn't have been so upset if she'd just given him a message. And knowing him, he would have been just as happy to spend their date helping her out on the case.

But she'd messed up everything. They had argued a few times before but they had never had a fight this big. All the times her phone had rung since the afternoon, she had dashed to it hoping it was a call or a message for him. But there had been none. A hundred times, she had almost called him but then she didn't know what to say.

Would he forgive her?

For the first time ever, she was glad her father was away on business. Ned had invited her for a party in one of his basketball teammate's house and she had already taken permission to go. Explaining to her father why she suddenly didn't want to go would have been awkward.

Somehow, remembering his face right before he'd left, she had known he wouldn't call her about the party. The thought of all the pretty cheerleaders fawning over him made her want to punch something.

She wasn't insecure. Ever since they'd gotten together nine months ago, he had never even glanced at another girl. But he was angry with her now and...

Nancy turned and her eyes fell on a piece of paper sticking out of the book on her side table.

It was the letter she had intended to give Ned next week on Valentine's Day. Their first Valentine's Day. Her eyes welled up with fresh tears. Would she ever get the chance?

She was about to flip over again when she heard knocking. Looking around she determined it was coming from the French windows that led to the balcony.

For a second she was scared. Her father wasn't home, Hannah's bedroom was downstairs in another corner of the house and if it was a burglar...

But why would a burglar knock? Was it George? She had sneaked out a few times like this before. Taking a deep breath, she threw on her dressing gown, removed the curtains and threw open the windows.

Ned stood there, his hands in his pockets, a shy expression on his face. A blast of cold air hit her and she shivered, both from cold and anticipation.

"Ned! What are you doing here? Come in!"

She didn't need to question how he had gotten to the second floor. A tree grew right next to the balcony and Nancy had herself climbed it several times over the past years.

"Quick question before I do." Ned whispered. "Does your dad own a gun?"

Nancy shook her head. "He isn't home."

He was just about to step into her room when he stopped.

"What about Hannah?"

That made Nancy laugh, breaking the tension. The image of sweet old Hannah within an arm's reach of a gun was just too absurd.

"No, silly. Now come in before you and I both get hypothermia." She pulled him into the room and shut the door.

"Nan, I just, uhh I shouldn't have shouted at you. I'm sor..." Ned started to say but she shut him off with the kind of kiss that she hoped would make him believe that it wasn't his fault.

"Oh." He said when they had finally parted, his words forgotten.

"Ned, I'm the one who's sorry. I really am. I should have at least sent a message. Can you forgive me?"

"We both lost our heads for a while. I don't think there's anything to forgive." Ned touched her cheek tenderly. "Wait, Nan are you crying?"

"No." Nancy shook her head, hugging him. "I'm just glad to see you."

They sat together on the rug on the ground at the foot of her, his arms around her and her head against his chest. It was a long time before she finally spoke.

"How was the party?"

"I didn't go. I played video games at Mike's and then crashed at his place."

Mike, one of Ned's classmates lived just a few doors down from Nancy's house.

"So that's why I didn't hear your car." She said.

He nodded. "I'm sorry if I woke you up."

"You didn't. I couldn't sleep."

His arms tightened around her.

"I couldn't either. In the afternoon I was angry because I hadn't expected to be stood up. But then later I kept thinking that maybe sometimes I just take up too much of your time. Keep you away from doing things that you like, like solving mysteries."

"Ned. I love solving mysteries but there's nothing I love more than spending time with you. I'm sorry I forgot about our date. I really didn't mean to."

He turned her until she was looking right into his eyes.

"Nan, you know, when I first saw you that day on the field, it wasn't love at first sight. You were the prettiest girl I'd ever seen, of course I noticed that but I didn't instantly fall in love. That happened later that night when I came with you on the stakeout. That's when I saw how smart you were, that's when I saw that fire in your eyes when you're solving a case, that absolutely beautiful smile on your face when you finally manage to crack it. And that's when I knew I'd end up loving you."

"Ned,.." She started to say, placing her palm against his chest.

She could feel his heart race under her fingers.

"No, hear me out." He continued. "Nan, your passion is one of things I love the most about you and it would kill me if you decide to just stop because of me or anyone else for that matter. It is a part of who you are and I admire you for that. And I'll always be ready if you need my help. I don't care if we have to spend our date chasing criminals or hunting for clues in a dumpster. And I'm okay even if you don't want my help. All you need to do is let me know. Can you do that?"

Nancy reached up to touch his face.

"Ned, I will never not need your help. You're smart, strong, reliable and the sweetest person I know. I know my cases sometimes come in the way of relationships. It's not just you. Sometimes it's George and Bess too. But let's just promise that one of us ever feels upset we'll talk about it and not fight."

"Okay." Ned brushed his lips against her fingers.

"And I suppose if I ever get a case where I have to chase down criminals, I have a proposition for you." She continued.

"And what might that be, Drew?"

"We should partner up."

"You mean Drew and Nickerson, the detective duo?"

"Yes. Drew and Nickerson, the detective duo. Although we'll have to think up a catchier name."

"I couldn't be more honoured." He grinned against her ear.

"So how about we seal the deal with a kiss, partner?" She smiled back.

"Deal, partner." He leaned down to kiss her and her heart soared.


	9. Chapter 9

**_This one's a two-part mini mystery written on the prompt- Nancy realizes exactly when her cases start getting dangerous. Modified it to be in Ned's POV. Happy reading!_**

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**Part I**

Ned drummed his fingers against the steering wheel impatiently as the car in front of him moved just a few more feet.

It was a Saturday in late April and although neither of them had school, they hadn't planned to hang out as Nancy had plans with George and Bess.

But while he was just finishing up with some errands, she had texted him that she might have figured out the case and was on her way to his house.

The case in question was the string of break-ins in Ned's neighborhood of Mapleton. The first one had happened last Monday and since then there had been one every night. Ned's house had been the third one attempted, on Wednesday night. It hadn't been successful as they'd woken but all they had seen of the burglar were the tail lights of his car disappearing around the corner of the street.

Although, it might have been a little wrong to call the person a burglar. Nothing had ever been stolen from the four houses affected so far. It was as mysterious as it could be and that is why Ned had asked Nancy to help figure it out. There had been some mess and two of the break-ins had occured during broad daylight but other than that they had found out nothing more incriminating when he and Nancy had interviewed his neighbours over the past two days.

It had had them both stumped so it had been quite a surprise when she had suddenly texted him. By the time he had seen it it already been half an hour and he had called her to let her know that his parents were out and that he was on his way. She hadn't picked up so assuming she was driving, he had sent her a message.

By the time he reached home, it had already been over an hour so he wasn't surprised to see Nancy's new blue convertible parked in his driveway. It was a quite a sweet ride, gifted by her father on her sixteenth birthday a couple of weeks ago. It was empty.

Expecting to see her sitting on the swing in the porch, he got out of his car. As he got closer he realised that his front door was slightly ajar.

Strange, he thought. He distinctly remembered locking it before he had left. His parents couldn't be back home so soon either, in fact they weren't supposed to be back before late evening.

Was it the intruder? And more importantly, where was Nancy? Feeling fear build up in the pit of his stomach, Ned walked swiftly into the house, calling out her name.

Nobody responded and nothing seemed to be out of place either. But when he reached the kitchen, he saw that the back door was wide open. Walking swiftly into his backyard, he called out her name again.

He started walking towards the shed at the corner of his backyard, when something on the ground caught his eye.

Bending down to pick it up, he realised it was the flashlight keychain he had gifted Nancy the previous year. Her car keys were attached to it.

Panic gripped him. Where was Nancy? He rushed over to the shed. They never locked it as all it held were a few old tools. The important stuff, they stored in the garage but his dad sometimes used it as a workshop to do his woodworking.

Throwing open the door, he stopped dead in his tracks.

The bright light shone onto a figure lying prone on the floor at the corner. The light glinted off strawberry blonde hair.

His blood ran cold. Nancy.

He dropped down on his knees next to her and called her name but she didn't move.

What or who had done this to her? She hadn't just fallen, there was absolutely no doubt that there had been a struggle. The shelf next to door had tipped over, it's contents scattered on the floor. There were scratches on her arms.

God, she was not moving. Should he call an ambulance? Where was his phone? Dang, in his hurry he had left in his car.

He had to move her out of here. But if she was badly injured, moving her might take things worse. Hell, he was panicking now.

Why wasn't she waking up? How long had she been here?

Ned put one of his hands on her cheek and held her hand tightly with the other, willing her to wake. A few times after he had repeated her name, she began to stir.

"Nancy..Nan. It's me, Ned. Can you hear me?"

Her eyes fluttered open and he felt himself releasing a sigh.

He wasn't still sure how badly she was hurt but seeing her conscious made him relax just a tiny bit.

"Hmmm ouch" She groaned as she touched the back of her head, rising up slowly.

She winced when his fingers lightly brushed over an obvious bump at the back of her scalp.

"What happened?" He asked gently, as he helped her into a sitting position.

"I found the intruder." She smiled wryly. "Or more like the intruder found me. I'll explain once I get some ice on this nice bump he gave me."

Without a word, Ned scooped her in his arm and carried her inside the house. She didn't protest.

Settling her on the couch, he went into the kitchen to prepare an ice pack for her. When he came back, she was sitting up.

"Thanks." She said as he handed her the ice. She pulled him down beside her and gave him a soft kiss.

"Are you sure you're okay, Nan? You've never been injured on a case before. Do want me to drive you to the hospital? Or call your dad or Hannah?"

"I'm okay, Ned. Don't worry. I wasn't even out for too long. Maybe about half an hour." Nancy said, lacing her fingers with his.

He looked at her for a moment and spoke only when he was sure she was okay.

"Okay then. Now spill."


	10. Chapter 10

**Part II**

"Let me start at the beginning." She said. "So you know I was supposed to spend the afternoon at George's house today. By the time I arrived, Bess was there there already. And so was Rosalie. She had come over but since Geoff was still out, she hung out with us until he came back."

Rosalie was George's brother's girlfriend. They had both been seniors at River Heights High and had graduated last year. Now, they went to University of Chicago and were home for spring break.

"Anyway." Nancy continued. "Rosalie had something really interesting to tell us. Earlier this morning, two police detectives had come to her house to enquire about whether they had seen anyone in a green Chevy at the yard sale they'd had last weekend. And to know if they had any record of who was at the sale."

Rosalie's mother was a member of one of the biggest NGOs in River Heights. The yard sale was organized as a charity event to fund a new wing in the Children's hospital. Rosalie had asked Nancy, George and Bess for help and when Ned had heard about it, he had volunteered to help too.

And he had been glad. The reception had been huge and it had seemed like half of River Heights had been there. From what he had been told, they had collected more than they'd ever imagined.

"But what does that have in connection to the break ins here?"

"That's where it gets interesting." Nancy said, her eyes twinkling. "Rosalie got the policemen to reveal quite a lot. So you might know the River Heights Museum has an exhibition coming up?"

He nodded.

"Well, one of the paintings that was supposed to be there was brought from Chicago last month. Yesterday the museum workers started setting up the exhibits and that's when they realised the painting was missing. That is, it had been stolen sometime within the last ten days because that's when they had last checked. Now, this might seem like I'm going off on a tangent but hear me out. A family living close to the museum reported that their green Chevy was stolen while they were out of town. The car was found abandoned in an alley near the park where we had the sale last Wednesday and returned to the family. At the time the police figured some kid had just taken it for a joyride."

Ned still hadn't figured out where she was going with this, but knowing her he was certain there was some connection.

"After the theft was discovered, CCTV footage revealed that the car had been at the museum last Sunday. The cameras around the street tracked it to the park. The police did a thorough check of the car again and this time found a half ripped up tag with barcode which was traced to the painting. And so now the police have reason to believe that the art thief spent some time at the sale."

"So the art thief escaped in a stolen car, spent a while at the yard sale for some reason and then left and got rid of the car? And that's why the police are now looking for anyone who saw him." He looked into her eyes for confirmation.

She nodded before continuing.

"Now here's where it gets interesting. At the sale if you remember I was handling the section right behind Rosalie. Sometime in the afternoon a woman came up to her to buy a painting. I had my back to them but I remember because they talked quite a while as the painting didn't have a pricetag. That wasn't unusual because dozens of people had brought in stuff just that morning and there hadn't been enough time to evaluate everything. Rosalie asked for ten dollars but the lady was willing to give a hundred as it was for a good cause. Then she said the church in the painting looked just like the one in Mapleton, near her house and that's when I turned because I know quite a few of your neighbors and I was wondering whether I knew her too."

"Did you?"

"No. All I saw was the back of a very tiny woman, tinier than Bess with short grey hair with streaks of white. But I did see two very interesting things. One was the painting. I caught only a glimpse but what it looked like was a wedding was taking place onside a church. And the second thing was a man. Grey eyes, in his late thirties. He was standing a few feet behind her and he caught my eye because he looked utterly confused. And also because he had an awful scar all the way from here to here."

She traced a finger from her nose all the way down to her jaw.

Ned suddenly connected the dots.

"Wait...you think the painting sold was the stolen one and the man had something to do with it?"

"Yes. After Rosalie left I kept thinking about this. The police hadn't mentioned whose or what painting was stolen. But it kept nagging me so I pulled up the museum's website and all they had was a listing of all the artists. And together these artists had over a hundred paintings."

"Did you find anything interesting?"

"I didn't. But George did. She found an interview of the Museum's Director by a student reporter from the Art School,

from last month. He had been asked about the most famous painting that was going to be there and he revealed it was named 'The Bride'. On a hunch we decided to find out more about the painting. And that was extremely difficult because it had been donated by a wealthy businessman to the Chicago Museum just a few months back and had never been put on display. But we finally managed to find a picture. And look."

She pulled up a picture on her phone and handed it to him. It was the scene of a wedding in a church. The scene was such that despite the audience and the background crowding the frame, it was impossible to miss the look of sheer love on the bride's face.

Ned now understood everything.

"This was the painting that the Mapleton lady bought. And the guy behind her is the thief and also our intruder. He probably heard her just like you had and is now randomly breaking into houses here to get back the painting."

He looked at Nancy for confirmation and she nodded.

"I still don't understand what he was even doing at the sale. But I can swear that was the painting I saw. George sent Rosalie a text and she confirmed it too. As soon as I learnt this, I texted you and headed over here to see if you recognise the lady. I was just getting out of the car when I received your message saying that nobody was home. So of course it surprised me when I saw that your door was ajar."

"And you figured it was the intruder, trying his luck again?"

"Yeah. I tried to creep in quietly but I think he'd either heard me or the car because I heard a door slam, somewhere towards the kitchen. By the time I reached there, the back door was wide open and I knew I'd lost him. At that time I thought the only way he could've escaped was to jump over the fence into the Lannister's yard so I decided to peep over the fence to see if I could just get a glimpse of him or something."

"Let me guess. He hadn't gone over and was still in the yard."

"Yes." Nancy said ruefully. "He was hiding behind the shed and he grabbed me and dragged me inside. I just managed to get a glimpse of his face before he knocked me out."

"Same guy?" He asked.

"Same guy." She confirmed.

"I'm just upset I got you into this mess, Nan. You'd never have been hurt if I hadn't asked you to help." Ned touched her face tenderly.

"Ned, you know I would've been more upset if you hadn't told me. And really, I'm fine. I've had worse playing soccer with George." She smiled, placing her hand over his.

"What are we doing now, Detective?" He grinned back.

"First track down the lady. Check if our suspicions are correct. And then go to the police."

"Short grey haired woman, you say. I think I can name about three off the top of my head. Anything else?"

"She had sort of a deep voice. And the bag she carried looked pretty expensive. And oh! I think she walked with just the slightest limp."

"You know that sounds Mrs Delway. Melinda Delway, wife of Dr Howard Delway. She's a good friend of mom's. She's had a limp since an accident a few years ago. She lives about ten houses down the street. We could go over right now."

"What are we waiting for?"

They left quickly, making sure to lock every door. The Delway residence was a big red bricked house with a tasteful garden in the front. When they rang the bell, it was opened by a small lady, about fifty years of age, her hair prematurely white.

"Ned! Sweety, what brings you here?" He face grew worried. "Are your parents all right?"

"Yes, they are good, Mrs Delway. This is my girlfriend, Nancy Drew. We were hoping you could help us with something. It's about the break-ins around here."

"Oh hello dear." said Mrs Delway, smiling at Nancy. "Edith once told me you've solved tons of cases. Why don't you come in and then we'll talk."

Ned saw Nancy blush as they followed her inside.

Once they were settled on the couch, Nancy spoke.

"Mrs Delway, has the intruder tried to break into your house yet?"

"No. But Howard and I have been really worried. We make sure doors are locked properly and have been sleeping with one eye open."

"This might seem really random, but were you at the yard sale at Hilway Street last weekend?"

"Oh yes, I was. I bought this lovely painting. I'm thinking of hanging it up right there." She said, pointing to an empty space on the wall to their right.

"Can we have a look at it?" Ned spoke up.

"Sure."

They had been expecting it but it was still a bit of a shock seeing the painting they had seen on Nancy's phone in real life. It was a small canvas about sixteen by sixteen inches. He couldn't make out the signature but turning the canvas over he found a half ripped sticker at the back.

Nancy and he huddled around it to get a closer look. There were just 2 bars in the bar code still intact but there were some lettters and numbers at the bottom.

_RHPL-TB-97..._

"River Heights Public Library!" Ned and Nancy exclaimed in unison.

Mrs Delway was looking at them, dumbfounded. While Nancy explained the situation to her, he went into the kitchen to keep their empty glasses of lemonade.

He was just walking back when when a loud crash and a high pitched scream stopped him dead in his tracks. He almost ran back but his instinct and reason made him proceed slowly, without making any noise.

The scene he saw from the doorway leading to the living room made his blood run cold.

A man stood in front of the centrepiece, his back towards Ned. He had a gun, pointed straight at Nancy's head.

"I knew you were trouble when I first saw you roaming around the neighborhood, I figured asking questions." The man said, shaking his head. "You should have heeded to the warning. Now you're going to find out what happens to kids who go around poking their noses in other's businesses."

He had to call the police. The intruder hadn't noticed him but Nancy and Mrs Delway obviously had. They were doing an incredible job of hiding their expression.

"How did you finally find the right house?" Nancy asked, her voice just a little too loud.

She was buying him time. Slowly, Ned tiptoed back into kitchen.

And then he realised something. His phone was still in his car. Fighting panic, he looked around desperately hoping to find Mrs Delway's phone lying around.

"You know I should thank you for that. Right after I knocked you out and escaped I saw her walking down the street. Talk about luck!" The man's voice drifted to him.

His eyes landed on a half open drawer at the corner of the room. Usually, while cooking, his mother kept her phone in a similar drawer..

Praying for luck, he opened it gently and almost cried out in happiness. There was a phone inside. And it wasn't locked.

He called the police, speaking as low possible. They would be here in five minutes.

Nancy was still talking. But he couldn't just hide out here while the man had a gun pointed at her head. He looked around to see what he could use as weapon.

A knife wouldn't be of much use against a gun. But maybe he could use something to knock him out if he tried something before the police arrived. There was a vase on the table which looked heavy enough. Just to be safe he picked up the sharpest knife he could find too and tiptoed back.

"...for the sake of privacy I don't meet my clients. We agree on a place of drop and the money is transferred to my account. Very discreet. Only this time the money reached me but the painting didn't reach the buyer because someone else picked it up first." The man nodded nastily at Mrs Delway who paled even further.

Ned looked right into Nancy's eyes and mouthed that he had called the police. The job now was to stall him.

"Why didn't you go after her immediately, Mr Farven? Would've saved you a lot of trouble." She remarked.

"Frankly because at that time, I thought she was the buyer. And even if I had my suspicions, I was using a stolen car because my getaway car gave up on me just when I needed it. I was pretty sure the police were after me already. You see, I was having quite a rough day."

"But why bother about getting back the painting? You already have your money, anyway."

"Oh. If everything was so easy. They're after me now. You see, there's hundreds of thousands and maybe even millions of dollars involved. My own head's at stake."

"And you think killing two innocent people is the only way?"

"Well, I can't trust young girls to keep their mouths shut, can we? You're asking too many questions. Hands where I can see them!" Farven shouted shifting the gun so that it pointed at Mrs Delway.

Three things happened at once.

Mrs Delway screamed at the same Ned lunged at the thief who fired a shot. Through the corner of his eye, he saw Nancy launch herself at Mrs Delway, pushing her out of the bullet's path which ultimately lodged itself harmlessly into the wall. Ned swung the vase and connected with Farven's skull instantly knocking him unconscious.

The police burst in just as Nancy ran into his arms.

"And again Ms Drew and Mr Nickerson you have proved to be a great help for the River Heights Police Department. We're forever indebted." Chief McGinnis, the new police chief smiled at them from across the desk in his office.

"Please call me Nancy, Chief. And really, it was no big deal. Just one thing. Did he reveal who his client was?" Nancy smiled back.

"Not yet. But the recording you managed to take has been really helpful. Farven has been been wanted for over a year for art heists from over five museums. His recorded confession would ensure he goes to prison and some time there I'm sure would have him revealing the details."

"Well, that was exciting." Nancy grinned as they walked to her car.

"Exciting! Nan, I almost died of fright." Ned replied, in mock anguish.

"Well, stick around. I have a hunch there's a lot more to come." She winked.

"You're something else." He laughed as she reached up to kiss him.

* * *

**_Actually wrote this one over a year ago. Just modified it to be part of this universe. Hope you liked it!_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_Nancy and Ned lean more about each other on a weekend trip to Fox Lake._**

**_Disclaimer: Rated T for suggestive themes._**

* * *

Nancy snuggled closer to Ned as the little girl in TV screen ventured alone into the forest.

Horror movies normally didn't scare her. But she admitted that this particular one was giving her the creeps. The wind howling outside the Nickerson's Fox Lake cabin and rattling the windows was definitely adding to the effect.

In any case, she knew that the probability of her cuddling up to him was the reason Ned had chosen to watch the scariest horror movie of the year. The blue light from the television lit up the smile playing across the corners of his mouth, confirming her suspicions.

Oldest trick in the book, huh, Nickerson. Nancy thought. Let's see how long you can pretend the movie's the only thing on your mind.

She tilted her face and kissed him softly along the corner of his jaw. Ned reacted by moving his arm from her shoulder to encircle it tightly around her waist but his gaze stayed on the television.

Nancy decided to wait a while before she tried her next move. The Nickersons had been extremely nice when they had invited her to spend the weekend with them at Fox Lake. But with them around the two of them obviously hadn't had too much of alone time but his parents had gone to bed over an hour ago so she figured it was safe if they had some fun.

She snuggled in closer and made a soft noise against his chest. This time Ned responded by slipping his fingers just under the hem of her top, his fingers warm against her skin. But his eyes never left the screen.

I see what you're doing, Ned. Nancy thought. I wonder how long you can pretend to ignore me.

Not that she minded just watching a movie with him. But now that she'd thought of this as a challenge, she couldn't stop.

She let him trace circles on her belly for a while before she reached up and traced a line of soft kisses from his neck to the corner of his mouth.

This time, Ned's resolve broke. Twisting just a tiny bit, he captured her lips in a kiss that sent a warm ripple all the way to her toes.

"Something on your mind, Drew?" He whispered against her ear while using one hand to pause the movie.

"Just wondering if we could just finish the movie some other time."

"And do what now?" Ned said, the fingers of his free hand now tangled in her hair.

Nancy didn't realize that they were moving until her head hit the armrest of the couch. Ned was almost on top of her.

He made sure that their position wasn't uncomfortable at all. He had distributed his weight onto one propped arm so as to not squash her with his weight. But he'd given her the second bedroom in the cabin and took the couch instead and the fact that now she was practically lying in his bed set off a nervous flutter low in her belly.

Ned leaned it to kiss her deeply and Nancy parted her mouth to give his tongue access. When they finally parted quite a few minutes later, they were both breathless.

Although they'd been together for over one and a half years, they had both been very young and inexperienced and so had taken things incredibly slow. Too slow, according to Bess but Nancy was glad. Though she was sure that Ned really loved her, the fact that he hadn't tried to pressurise her into doing something she was not yet comfortable with, was reassuring.

She kissed his Adam's apple and felt it bobble up and down as he swallowed. His free hand was stroking her back just under the hem of her shirt and that mere touch felt like electricity to her.

"If I knew you had this in mind, I'd have suggested we skip the movie altogether." Ned grinned against her ear.

"We had to wait for your parents to fall asleep, silly." Nancy giggled as Ned playfully rubbed his nose against her.

At the back of her mind, she did wonder what Edith and James would think of her if they walked in on their intense makeout session. But the old wooden floor creaked everywhere. There was no way they could come all the way here without making any noise.

And that look in Ned's dark eyes as gazed at her, his face inches from hers, his body a firm weight against hers, there was absolutely no way she could just stop.

Between muted giggles, she put her palms on both sides of his face and pulled him in for another kiss. As the kisses deepened, Nancy lost track of time and gave in to the feeling of his strong but gentle arms around her and the warmth of his body pressing down on her.

She trailed her fingers from the small of his back all the way up his broad shoulders. She didn't know how long they'd been that way before she drew her nails against his neck and Ned reacted almost instantly.

Before she even had the chance to gasp, he moved off her to the far end of the couch.

"Shit. I'm so sorry, Nancy. I really didn't mean for that to happen." He said, running a hand through his hair.

Nancy took a breath to calm herself and collect her thoughts. She wasn't mortified. Nor was she naïve enough to not know that something like that happened with boys. But a small illogical part of her still thought that maybe she'd gone too far and led him on to believe that she was ready to give him something she absolutely wasn't.

Suddenly shy of her boyfriend, she avoided looking at him when she spoke.

"It's okay, Ned." When he didn't reply, she sneaked a glance at him. Even in the dim light, she could see that the tips of his ears were bright red.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

"Not really. I'll be fine in a while." He was still avoiding looking at her.

"Was this the first time? Like around me."

"No." He admitted, with a sheepish little smile. "But I do my best for it to not come to this. I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Nan."

"It's really okay, Ned." She smiled back at him, reassuringly.

But he had a funny look on his face.

"Nancy, what did you mean by 'around you'? He finally asked.

Nancy took another deep breath. She had met Ned when he was fifteen, started dating when he was sixteen. In the meantime he hadn't dated anyone else but he was devastatingly handsome. Although he had told her that she was the first girl he'd ever loved, she had always assumed that he at least must've had more experience than she did.

And that was a conversation she'd avoided.

But well now...

"It must've happened with other girls. Before me." She finally said, not really wanting to hear his reply.

Even though she wasn't ready to go all the way yet, even imagining Ned being that way with any other girl made her blood boil.

But to her surprise Ned laughed.

"Nan, I was head over heels with you since I was fifteen. Before that, I could count the number of girls I'd kissed on one hand. And I wouldn't even need all my fingers." He shook his head. "And I definitely hadn't ever been in love before."

"You don't need to be in love. We've all had classmates who've been doing it since, I don't know middle school. I don't think they were all in love."

"How does that even happen?" Ned shrugged, his eyebrows furrowed.

"So you mean you've never done any of this before?" Nancy couldn't keep the amazement out of her voice.

"No. None of this. Everything is new to me too. And to be honest I'm nervous as you." This time he looked right into her eyes.

She could see the sincerity in his eyes and she realised that the fact that he hadn't been with other girls relieved her infinitely.

But at the same time it gave birth to a new apprehension.

This was a conversation that was inevitable, Drew. She reminded herself.

Taking another deep breath she willed herself to continue and tell Ned about her feelings.

"Ned, I love you. And believe me, I can't get enough of you. But I'm not ready to go all the way. Yet. Someday I will be but I know it's not going to be in a few months or maybe until next year when I turn eighteen. Maybe it's because of the way I was raised or.."

"Nancy." Ned cut ger off. "You don't need to give me a reason. I understand. I'll be lying if I say I don't want it but I'd never force you to do something before you're ready. I love you too and I will wait."

When Nancy looked up at him he had a small smile on his face.

"It may be years."

"I'll wait."

And the only thing she saw in his eyes was love.

"You think you could stick around for that long?"

"I already told you, Drew. You're not getting rid of me so easily. And anyway, there's lots of things we could do until then."

"Like what?"

He offered her his hand and she moved until she was sitting close to him again.

"Like watch this very awesome movie that I happened to select." He said, putting an arm around her.

As Nancy put her head against his shoulder, she wondered how she ever got this lucky.

* * *

**_Happy Easter!_**


	12. Chapter 12

**_Ned has a secret._**

* * *

"Ned, is that you?" Nancy's muffled voice sounded through the door of the guest bedroom at his house.

Both Carson Drew and Hannah had had to leave town for urgent work. Nancy had initially planned to stay with Bess or George or alone. But since she was anyway supposed to attend his cousin's wedding with him, his parents had insisted that she stay with them for the two days and Mr Drew had allowed it.

"Yeah. Do you need anything?" Ned called out.

"Can you call your mom? I need help with putting on the dress."

For a second, Ned wondered what she was wearing. Okay more like what she was _not_ wearing behind the door and he debated whether he should offer to help her himself. He had seen her in a bikini countless times and well he he'd be lying if he denied letting his imagination run a little wild. But at the same time he knew this was taking it further and the last thing he wanted was to upset her. In any case his parents might come up anytime.

Get your mind out of the gutter, Nickerson. He instructed himself strictly as he went downstairs to call his mother.

He'd just finished drying his hair and had put on his suit and tie when he heard a knock against his bedroom door.

"Come in!" He called out.

When he caught sight of Nancy behind him in the mirror, it literally and actually took his breath away. In her pale blue flowy silk dress, her red blond hair put up in a stylish updo, she looked absolutely gorgeous.

Turning her, he found her smiling, her eyes a vivid blue against her creamy skin.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Ned couldn't keep the awe out of his voice. He sincerely hoped that he wasn't drooling.

"Well, thank you Sir. You don't look too bad yourself." She said with a little curtsy and then twirled around for him, showing him the back of the dress. It involved a series of quite complex tie ups. "Bess threatened to disown me if I didn't buy this dress. I didn't realise that you need an engineering degree to figure out how to put it on yourself."

Ned laughed as he laced his fingers with hers, pulling her closer.

"I really like your mom, Ned. She even showed me how to do this hairstyle." She continued, smiling up at him.

"If it was upto her, she would have adopted you by now. That would have been really weird." He said, leaning down to kiss her.

"You're just jealous she likes me more than you." She laughed, wrapping her arms tightly around him.

"Not true." Ned said, though he felt strangely proud that his parents were so fond of his girlfriend. "Also, if you don't stop squeezing me I'll be wearing a very wrinkled shirt to the wedding."

"Mmm. Just a second. You smell really good too. A man in a suit who also smells good? You know that's what makes girls go crazy." Nancy mumbled against his chest.

"I'll keep that in mind the next time I want to ask out out a pretty girl."

"Hey!" She replied, breaking their embrace and swatting at him playfully. "Melissa's friends are going to be there. And with you looking like this. Mr Nickerson, I'm going to be sticking to you like a magnet today."

"My sister's college friends?" He rolled his eyes.

"18 and 22. What's the difference?"

"You just need an excuse." Ned laughed, pulling her into another hug.

"Maybe. Maybe not." She whispered against his ear just as his father called out from downstairs to ask if they were ready.

Later that day, they all cheered and clapped as the newly wed couple led the first dance.

Nancy's finger's tightened around his. True to her words, she hadn't left his side all day. Not that he was complaining.

She giggled as he led her onto the dance floor.

"You never told me Melissa met Brent at Emerson. You know, I might have to visit you quite often once you join. Maybe I'd meet a cute guy _myself_." She teased as they danced.

"Oh no Drew. You're not getting away with that." She wriggled against him as he found the ticklish spot on her back.

"Who said I'm trying to?" She said, wrapping her arms around him.

He lost track of the number of songs they danced to, gently swaying with the music, her head against his chest.

Through the corner of his eye he saw his father lead his mother to a table.

When he spoke again, there were only a few couples still left on the dance floor.

"You look so pretty, Nan."

"You flatter me too much." But she was smiling.

And the truth was that it wasn't flattery at all. Because for him, she was the most beautiful person he'd ever set his eyes upon and he knew she knew what he felt about her. Quite early in their relationship, he had realised that she had a way of finding out even the smallest details.

A detective never rests, he liked to joke everytime she guessed what all he had been up to during the day before he even had the chance to relate it. It was one of the things he liked the most about her.

And so he told her everything. They didn't have any secrets between them.

_Except one_. And Ned knew he had to wait a while before he could tell her.

It had happened just earlier that day. A strange hush had descended upon the crowd when his cousin had entered the church and started walking down the aisle, the veil not hiding the happy blush on her face. Nancy had given his hand a gentle squeeze and he had sneaked a peak at her and she'd had the dreamiest expression on her face.

_Stars_. That's what he'd seen in her eyes.

And before he had a chance to fully realise it, he had already imagined it. Him waiting at the end of the aisle as Nancy slowly walked up to him, dressed in white with that same look on her face.

She had only spoken after the ceremony was over.

"That was the most beautiful thing ever, wasn't it Ned?" She'd beamed and he had known for sure.

One day he would ask her to marry him.

It would be years later though. He was only eighteen, going away to college at the end of summer. She was just seventeen, yet to start her senior year of high school. It was too soon. Way too soon to even think of something years into the future. But he had no doubt regarding his feelings for her. He knew he would never ever meet anyone else like her.

And so he made a promise to himself.

She'd be the first girl he would ever propose to. If he was lucky, she would be the _only_ girl he would ever propose to.

"What's on your mind? You seem miles away." Nancy's voice broke into his thoughts.

Looking down, he found her peering at him through long lashes, her eyes twinkling.

Taking a glance around to make sure his parents weren't in sight, he pulled her into a long kiss.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." He murmured softly as they gently swayed to the music.

* * *

**_This fic was inspired by the storyline in the Files wherein Ned wants Nancy to be the first girl he'd propose to. Hope you had fun reading!_**


	13. Chapter 13

**_Nancy and Ned are sleepless the night before he leaves for college._**

* * *

Nancy suppressed the urge to groan as Bess snored beside her. Peering over the edge of the twin bed in Bess's room she found that George was also fast asleep on the mattress on the floor.

Sighing, she rolled over onto her stomach and closed her eyes, willing sleep to come. All in vain.

Tomorrow, Ned would be leaving to start his freshman year at Emerson. After two years of living in the same city and seeing each other everyday, now he was going to be almost two hours away and she'd be lucky if she got to meet him a couple of times every month.

She wasn't insecure.Or at least she hadn't been. But how many couples did she know who had broken up because of distance? Dozens. How many people did she know whose high school romances had lasted? Hardly any.

Ned would never hurt her by doing something behind her back. That much she was sure of. But with her not physically there to remind him, there was no guarantee that distance wouldn't dull the romance and his feelings for her.

Long distance. For a whole year before she could join him at Emerson.

Her father and Hannah had done their best to cheer her up. And when Bess had invited them over for a sleepover as her parents were away, her father had insisted that she go. Her two best friends had also tried everything in their power to reassure her.

But they were as fond of Ned as she was. Could their judgement be prejudiced?

Nancy sighed. There was no way she was going to get any sleep tonight.

I need some air, she thought. She had just climbed out of bed when her eyes fell on her car keys.

From experience she knew that not even a tornado could wake the cousins. The sound of a car definitely wouldn't.

Without giving it a second thought, she scribbled out a note and placed it on her pillow. Then grabbing her keys and phone, she let herself out of the house and drove away.

Ned stared up at the ceiling in his room.

He knew that he should be properly rested for the fairly long drive tomorrow but sleep had evaded him.

Tomorrow he would be going to college.

He was pretty excited. He had spent a lot of time deciding between colleges and Emerson had been the best around. Especially its sports programme. There was a lot he was looking forward to.

At the same time he couldn't help but feel a little sad. So much was going to change.

After eighteen years of coming back home to his parents, he would now be coming back to an empty dorm room. Maybe a roommate.

There were so many other people too he was leaving behind. His grandparents, his friends from school who'd decided on colleges all across the country. Nancy.

God he would miss her. Her hands that looked so small within his, those blue eyes he could drown in, her red blonde hair that always smelled like flowers.

He wished he could relive the summer. Baking with Hannah at her house, watching thrillers and whodunnits in his den, talking about anything and everything on the porch. He grinned. That one always ended in a quick makeout session.

Even if they were doing their own thing, just being around Nancy made him so happy.

He was a year older than her and it had been obvious that he'd be going off to college before her. Once he'd been accepted into Emerson they had talked about what they wanted and he'd been more than relieved when she had agreed to a long distance relationship.

But was that realistic? They wouldn't be seeing each other for weeks at a time such as during midterms. She had school too. He couldn't expect her to visit every weekend either.

And he admitted that he was a little insecure. Nancy wasn't just drop dead gorgeous, she was incredibly smart too. Some people were intrigued by her but most others looked up to her and wanted to be around her. He knew for a fact that a lot of guys at school had their eyes on her.

Hadn't Josh Miller tried to shoot his shot with her during his senior and her junior prom? Nancy had brushed him off then. But distance could get in the way. He trusted her but if she fell for someone else while he was away, he would understand. Even though it would break his heart into a million tiny pieces.

Ned sighed heavily and turned onto his side. His eyes fell on the photo frame on his nightstand. Despite everything it brought a smile to his face.

It was a double frame. The first picture was the original one from almost two years ago when Nancy had first said she loved him. The other was a more recent one from prom, their arms around each other as they beamed at the camera.

He hadn't wanted to move this one so he'd bought a similar frame and printed out a few pictures to take with him.

He wished he could stop time and go on another date with her. Their last one for a while had been earlier that afternoon. He would see her again tomorrow, before he left but only for a few minutes.

He wished he could call her but she was probably sleeping and George and Bess...

Suddenly his phone lit up with a text message.

_Hey. You awake?_

_Yeah. What's up?_

_Open the window to your room._

He did. Nancy stood outside. Still in her pajamas.

Ned had hardly helped her into the room when she pulled him into a long kiss. They collapsed onto the bean bag in the corner, shushing their giggles with more kisses.

"How did you even get here?" He asked when they finally drew up for air.

"My car. Parked it down the street. Then maple tree in your backyard."

"Nancy Drew, that leads up to right outside my parents room."

"I guess all the sneaking around I have to do has been good practice." She grinned.

Ned shook his head in amazement. Oh how much he loved this girl.

"You know, it's usually the guy who sneaks into the girl's room." He whispered, putting an arm around her and drawing her close.

"Maybe I don't want us to be the usual couple."

All of a sudden, the corners of her mouth turned down. She took a deep breath before continuing.

"Ned, are we going to be okay?"

He had guessed that this was the reason why she was here in the middle of the night.

"What makes you think we won't?" He took her hand in his.

"It's just that...I know you're not going too far away. But it's a whole new world out there for you, Ned. You'll meet so many new people. Experience new things. I..I guess I'm just worried you might realise you're missing out on a lot because you're bound to me."

"Nan. I'm not bound to you. I'm with you because I love you. And the only thing I'll be missing is this. Us. I'll be missing it every single minute before we see each other again."

"Even when those pretty cheerleaders are fawning all over you?"

He chuckled softly at that.

"I've told you, Nan cheerleaders aren't my type. And believe me sometimes I get insecure too. But I trust you. And if you must know, I like a specific kind of girl. Tall, blue eyed redhead. Drop dead gorgeous. And she also has to be the best detective I've ever known. Oh! her name should be Nancy Drew. That one's a must. You know, I'm pretty sure there's just one in the whole world." He smiled at her.

She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck in a long embrace.

"I trust you too. But you have to promise me something." She whispered looking right into his eyes.

"What?"

"If you meet someone else, you have to let me know right away."

"Nan I won't meet.."

"Promise me, Ned. It'll just make us both miserable otherwise."

"I promise."

She gave him a small smile.

"But I want you to promise me something too."

"Like what?"

This was what sometimes kept him awake at night. The thing was, it seemed like the more dangerous Nancy's cases got, the less serious she became about her own safety. Ned loved watching her work and he was so incredibly proud of what she did for others. But it pained him to see her hurt. Though he knew that she was more than capable of taking care of herself, sometimes all he wanted was to protect her and keep her safe.

"Whatever new case you're working on, you have to let me know. Even if you don't want my help. And promise me you will be more careful."

"Ned I am careful.." Nancy began to protest.

"Really?" He tilted her chin and she flinched when his fingers brushed the fading bruise on the underside of her jaw. A souvenir from her last case.

"I'm serious, Nan. In the past year you've dealt with kidnappers, arsonists, murderers and God knows who else. I cannot be more proud of you but at the same time it scares me that one day I might just call and then find out something happened to you."

"I'll be careful, Ned. I promise." And he was happy to see the conviction on her face.

"But..if I do need someone strong and smart to help me catch the criminals and you're busy with exams?" She smiled at him coyly.

"I'm sure ten years from now, the story of how my girlfriend and I solved a crime would be more fun to tell than the story of how I aced some test."

She laughed softly and shifted her position until her head was on his chest, tucked in below his chin.

"You know Ned, so much is going to change. But I think we're going to be okay." She murmured.

"There's a lot that won't. I'll still be home every weekend I can. We will talk on the phone. And I'll be here for your prom..."

It was then that Ned realised that Nancy had fallen asleep, snuggled against him.

Smiling giddily, he reached for his alarm and set it so that they could wake up before his parents. Then, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead, he looped an arm around her and went to sleep.

He had just one thought in his mind. The fact that Nancy had come all the way here in the middle of the night had left no doubt.

They wore going to be okay. They were going to be more than okay.

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

**_Nancy races against time to find Ned when he goes missing during a case._**

**_Another mini mystery! This one will be about 4-5 chapters long and I'll try my best to upload a new chapter every day :)_**

* * *

**Part 1**

Nancy paced up and down outside the Emersonville police station. She felt livid.

Ned had been missing all night but the detectives she'd spoken to had clearly stated that they couldn't take any action unless he had been gone for over twenty four hours. He was an adult and apparently a lot of college students disappeared for a weekend with their friends before returning to their hostels a couple of days later.

But Ned wouldn't just leave without telling anyone. The detectives had even brushed her off when she'd mentioned that she was worried about him as he'd been working on a case.

"Kids these days watch those detective shows and think they're the smartest things in the world." Detective Phillips had remarked with disdain.

It had all started last week.

Ned hadn't been able to make it back home for the weekend as Omega Chi was holding a fundraiser. Instead, Nancy had driven down to help out and spend the Sunday with him.

It had only been her second visit since he'd shifted to the frat house and she had been introduced to more of the frat brothers. Ned had been especially excited for her to meet one of them.

Joshua Moore. Senior and one of the stars of Emerson's track team. He had been receiving anonymous threats to quit the team and so as soon as he'd heard that Nancy was a detective, Joshua had requested Ned to ask her for help.

However, Nancy had to return to River Heights for school so Ned had promised to continue the investigation for her.

They hadn't found much at all. In fact, all three of them had started coming to the conclusion that they had just been pranks.

Until last night, when Ned had texted her that he'd found out something important. He had promised to call and explain later but hadn't. Not thinking much about it, the next day being a Saturday she had headed to Emerson like they'd planned earlier.

However, on arriving at Omega Chi, people had been shocked to see her. Because Ned hadn't returned last night. Even his car was gone so naturally everyone believed he'd returned home for the weekend.

But he hadn't. So where was he?

She stopped pacing when she caught a glimpse of Joshua's blond head among the people exiting the station. His face wore a grim expression.

"What happened?" She asked when he reached her.

"I don't think they believe me. If anything, they think it was a harmless prank. The fact that I couldn't show them the notes makes things worse."

"Are you sure you gave Ned all five of them?" She asked as she got behind the driver's wheel.

"Positive. But he might still have them in his room." Joshua said, getting into the co-drivers seat.

She nodded. She had already thought of looking through Ned's room.

"Joshua, why don't you suspect anyone from the track team? Jealousy can bring out the worst in your closest friends."

"Frankly, because I don't see a motive. The States and Nationals are over. There isn't any major competition in months."

"Aren't you participating in the University Championships next month?"

"I am. But you see, even if I dropped out now, it wouldn't benefit anyone. Applications closed months ago. Rules were to send in two names. A main participant and a standby just in case. In fact, I'm the standby. I'll be going only because Alex Wheeler got injured. If I drop out and Alex is still unable to participate, nobody gets to go."

Nancy had heard about Alex Wheeler. The son of the track team's coach, he was one of Emerson's greatest assets.

"So what made you suspect Sheena?"

Through the corner of her eye, she saw Joshua turn red.

Sheena Easton was his ex girlfriend. When he had first asked Nancy for help, he'd reluctantly admitted that she had been his first guess.

"Sheena and I have known each other since we were kids. We only got together in college and she's always been understanding. I mean two months ago, we were talking about getting married. And then, Coach asked me to participate and I got so busy with training and college and jobs that we hardly saw each other. Suddenly, it was like she couldn't stand the sight of me. It was only after she broke up with me that I realized that she must have felt neglected. Plus there was the fact that the notes stopped after we broke up."

"So you still think it was her?"

Joshua sighed heavily.

"No. Not at all. Actually last night I was going to ask Ned to just forget about all this. I haven't received another note in over two weeks. I was sure someone was just messing with me. And now Ned's missing and I don't know what to think any more. I'm sorry, Nancy. For getting both of you into this mess."

"It's not your fault. And we'll find him

Don't worry." Nancy wished she completely believed her words.

She dropped Joshua off at Omega Chi and then drove to Packard Hall where she was staying with her old friend, Sarah. She needed to get her case diary where she'd written down everything Ned had found out yet.

Opening the door with the key Sarah had given her, Nancy almost stepped over the piece of paper on the floor.

Frowning, she picked it up.

The bloodied note slipped from Nancy's fingers and slowly drifted towards the floor.

_No_. This was what she'd feared. It could not actually be happening.

_Go to the police and you'll never see Ned Nickerson again._

Feeling her legs buckle under her, Nancy slid down onto the floor and curled up with her head on her knees. She felt faint.

Some part of her had hoped the police were right. But of course they weren't.

Not Ned. _Not her Ned._

But some voice of reason told her that this was not the time to panic. She had to find him. And so she forced herself to take deep breaths and get herself together.

Feeling her breathing return to normal, Nancy used a napkin to pick up the note from the floor and inspect it. Black print on usual office paper. Exactly like the five notes Joshua had received so far. Except this one was smeared with red at one corner.

It could be ink. She prayed it was ink.

She couldn't risk his life by going to the police. The kidnapper already knew where she lived. For all she knew, he could be watching her right now. Her only hope was to find some clue in his room to where all he'd been and then try to retrace his steps.

Wrapping the note in the napkin, Nancy put it in her bag and headed out.


	15. Chapter 15

**Part 2**

"Nancy, we have to go to the police." Joshua said from the floor of Ned's room.

Nancy sighed in frustration. So far they'd found no clues in Ned's room.

All she'd learnt from his friends was this. Someone had seen him leaving the gym around six in the evening. But he hadn't returned until after eight. According to his roommate he had mentioned that he might be heading home the next day.

It was around this time that he had sent out two messages. One to her promising to call later. Another one to Joshua asking him to meet him by the Emerson lake at ten. Around 9:50 this had been followed by another message asking Joshua to not come as something had come up and he was on his way to River Heights.

But he wasn't in River Heights. His parents had confirmed it. She'd already called the hospitals around just in case. Any calls to his cell had gone straight to voicemail. She had tried her best to not alarm both his parents and his friends so far. But she couldn't quite manage to stop the panic building up in her own heart.

"Nancy what's the next step?" Joshua spoke again.

"Do you have to get to work?"

He nodded.

"Do that. I'll call if I find something."

After he left, she sat at his desk and opened his laptop. She didn't know what she was looking for. Something. Anything that would shed some light on what had transpired leading up to his disappearance.

They sometimes wrote emails to each other describing their day so the first thing she did was log onto his email. She already knew his passwords so she didn't have any trouble.

She was hoping that he might have had unfinished draft or...

7 unread emails. Nancy frowned. They were all from the same address. She clicked on the most recent one.

_Dear User,_

_Someone tried to log into your SafeNotes account through the SafeNotes Mobile App. Click here to access your private notepad._

SafeNotes was a pretty popular app. She herself used it to keep passwords or jot down her thoughts when her case diary wasn't around.

Nancy gasped when she saw the time the email had arrived. 0800 hours. That was just a few hours earlier!

Quickly she went through all of them. The first one was from 10:30pm last night. Around the time Ned went missing. There was no doubt. Whoever had kidnapped him had his phone and was looking for something.

Quickly, she clicked on the link. It led her to SafeNote's online database where she was asked to enter a four digit PIN.

Nancy tried every combination of important dates. Every time she got it wrong, she received a similar email.

Finally it was her birthday which did the trick. That broke her heart a little but she refused to let her emotions take control over her.

At first glance what she saw were various folders- Passwords, Music, Class Notes, Addresses..._Cases_.

She opened the Cases folder. The most recent one was titled 'Josh'.

Excitement building up in her, she opened it.

Ned had made some sort of a to-do list of actions he'd taken with respect to the case, the suspects, people he'd spoken to, short accounts of his thoughts. The first few entries were from earlier that week and Nancy already knew about these developments.

However, scrolling down she found four new entries she had no idea about.

_Talk to Sheena._

_Drugs?? Blackmail? Jefferson?_

_Confront Josh._

_Call Nancy._

Drugs? What had Ned found out from Sheena? Why confront Josh? Could he have been sending the notes himself? But what was the motive? And who was Jefferson? She'd never heard of him.

Nancy closed Ned's laptop and for a second looked sadly at the picture of them he kept on his nightstand. Slowly, a small smile lit up across her lips. Now, she had some idea of what he'd been up. And she wasn't going to rest until she found him.

Nancy knocked on Sheena,'s door. She had decided to not ask Joshua for her address. Since the very beginning, he had been quite skittish about them talking to her. Initially, they'd thought it was because things were awkward between the once couple but now that he was potential suspect, she did not want him to know what she was up to.

Instead, she'd asked Sarah.

A pretty African American girl, a few inches shorter than Nancy opened the door.

"Hi. I'm Nancy Drew. Are you Sheena Eaton?"

"That'll be me." She smiled. "How may I help you?"

"I was wondering if you talked to my friend Ned Nickerson last night."

Sheena's face lost the friendly look.

"I did." She did not make any attempt to invite her in.

"Sheena please. I'm a private investigator. Ned has been missing since last night. You might be one of the last people who saw him."

Nancy saw the other girl's eyes become round. Without any warning, she pulled Nancy into her room and closed the door.

Gesturing at Nancy to sit on of the twin beds, she spoke.

"I'll help in any way I can." Her voice quivered.

"What did Ned ask you?"

"He asked me why...why I broke up with Josh."

"And?" Nancy prompted.

Sheena sucked in an audible breath.

"I told him it was because things were not working out between us. But..but he didn't believe me. And he said something about Josh being in trouble and showed me some notes..."

To Nancy's surprise, Sheena burst into tears.

"What's the real reason?" She asked gently when the other girl had calmed down.

"It happened about three weeks ago. I'd gone to the tracks to watch Josh practice and he asked me to fetch his bottle from his kit. I was looking for it when I found something else. A small bottle of pills."

Pills! Ned had mentioned drugs and this could mean...

"This came at a time when rumours regarding the use of performance drugs among athletes here at Emerson had been swirling for a few weeks." Sheena continued. "I'm an athlete myself, Nancy. And I respect the game way too much to be with someone who doesn't. I..I tried to inform the Coach or the Dean but I..I couldn't quite make myself do it. Eventually, I just broke up with him."

"Are you sure? Why didn't you try to talk to Joshua?"

Sheena's expression turned stone cold.

"I'm a student of Kinesiology and sports management, Nancy. Believe me, I know the names of all kinds of drugs used as dope. And I did. For a while I wanted to help him. But he was never around. Sometimes it was classes. Or practice. Or his jobs. I understand he needs the money but it was seeming to me like he was trying to avoid me. He'd been so distant for the last few months and I guess I figured it was because he had something to hide. After a while I just got tired. In the end I never actually got to ask him about it."

Nancy was still processing this when a knock sounded against the door.

Sheena violently rubbed her face clean and put on a fake smile before answering.

"Come in!"

"Hey Shee. I'm out of highlighters. Could I borrow one? Oh hey! I'm Kourtney. I live next door." The tall brunette in a shiny sports attire said, smiling at Nancy.

"I'm Nancy. I'm just visiting." She smiled back, not wanting to reveal more than required.

After Kourtney had left, Nancy continued her investigation.

"And what did you do with the pills?"

A troubled expression flitted across Sheena's face. "I took them and later flushed them down the toilet. Threw away the empty bottle in the trash." She shook her head sadly. "It goes against my ethics. But at that time all I could think of was that if someone else found it and reported it to the Coach, Joshua would be rusticated. And I loved him too much for that to happen. I guess that's why even though I felt guilty for hiding it I couldn't quite make myself report it either."

Nancy reached over and squeezed the other girl's shoulder reassuringly.

"I understand. And you told Ned all this last night?"

She nodded.

"I haven't been going to the gym much lately. But yesterday I did. I was just leaving when Ned caught up to me. I've never had much time to hang out at Omega Chi but I did recognise Ned as one of the guys." She sighed heavily. "Despite trying not to, I've been desperate to know what's going on with Josh. So when he said Josh might be in danger I couldn't help it. I called him up here to my room for privacy."

"He told you about the threats?"

Sheena nodded again. "Yeah. And he didn't explicitly state it but I figured he suspected me. So I had to tell the truth. Other than what I've already told you, Ned asked me whether I knew of any people who might have a grudge against Joshua. I don't. After this he left promising to update me later."

"What time did he leave? And did he mention where he was going?"

"Around 6:45 pm. He said he was going to talk to Josh."

6:45! But Ned hadn't reached Omega Chi until 8. Nor had he met Joshua. So where had he been and what had he discovered in the meantime?

Nancy was still mulling over this new information when Sheena suddenly grasped her hands.

"Nancy. I've learnt so much since yesterday and the more I think about it, the more I feel that I must've over imagined some things. And now Ned is missing and I'm so scared. I just want to let you know that Joshua would never be connected to anything related to a missing person. If you need anything, please call me."

After reassuring Sheena that she would update her, Nancy left.

Instead of walking straight to Omega Chi, she took a detour towards the lake to collect her thoughts. Unlike early morning when she'd come here to look for clues, the place was now quite busy with walkers and picnickers.

Could Joshua be the perpetrator? There didn't seem to be any motive and where would even hide Ned. If he was the victim where had the pills come from and who was threatening him?

There was nothing else Nancy could do right now, other than talk to Joshua.

She had just turned her steps towards Omega Chi when her phone chimed indicating a new text message. Her heart jumped into her throat when she saw who it was from.

Ned.

_Asking too many questions, Drew? Remember, curiousity killed the cat._


	16. Chapter 16

**Part 3**

Nancy tapped her foot impatiently against the floor of the Omega Chi living room as she waited for Joshua to return from work.

It had been half an hour since she'd received that message. When she'd tried to call back, it had gone to voicemail just like the other times.

There was no question about the fact that someone was keeping quite a close eye on her. But who?

Nancy had kept her eyes peeled on the the rest of the walk back but there had been too many people around. Her two main suspects were still Joshua and Sheena and although evidence pointed at Sheena more than ever now, her judgement told her that the girl was innocent. That left Josh himself. Who did not seem to have a motive.

But still he hadn't been at the house when Ned had gone missing, and if he was guilty Nancy didn't want to be a sitting duck by meeting him somewhere alone.

"Hey Nancy! Did you find anything?" Joshua's voice broke into her thoughts.

Nancy nodded slowly as she watched him pull up a chair to sit in front of her. A red stain covered his sleeve. Ketchup. He worked at the cafeteria. Of course. But for a second, all she could think of was the bloodied note.

"I met Sheena."

"Oh." She saw a flicker of emotion cross his face. "Did you learn anything other than the fact that she hates me?"

"She doesn't hate you. At least not for the reasons you think."

"What do you mean?"

Nancy decided in a split second that being direct would be the best way ahead.

"Joshua, have you ever used performance enhancing drugs for sports?"

She had been expecting him to be scared or angry but the look of utter bafflement on his face surprised her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Sheena found pills in your kit. She took them to check. She thinks you're doping."

"What the hell! Nancy, I would never. Believe me, I have no idea what you're talking about." Joshua spoke in a harsh whisper, staring right into her eyes.

She could only see truth in them. And pain. If he was lying, he would be the best actor Nancy had ever met.

"I believe you." She finally said and saw him visibly relax. "Can you think of anybody who might have had access to these drugs? Someone who might benefit from framing you?"

"I can't think of anyone."

But this time she had the feeling that he wasn't so sure.

"I found some of Ned's notes on the case. He thought someone might be blackmailing you. And he mentioned some Jefferson. Think clearly, Joshua. Ned's life.."

She stopped speaking when she saw the look on his face. He had gone deathly pale.

"Are you okay?"

Joshua nodded weakly and then took a deep breath.

"I think Ned was onto something. There's only one Jefferson I know of, Alex Jefferson Wheeler."

Emerson's star athlete!

"Care to explain?"

"You must already know that there have been rumours around the campus regarding doping by Emerson athletes."

She nodded.

"I used to think that's all they were. Rumours. I've been in the team for almost four years and these guys are like family and I believed I knew everything there is to know about them. Until a few months ago. We'd gone down to Chicago for the States and I was rooming with Alex. The day we were supposed to come back, I was packing and I found a bunch of pills stashed away in the corner of the closet. When I asked Alex later, he brushed it off saying it was just medication for migraines."

"What made you suspect he was lying?"

"I didn't at the moment. It hit me a few months later when the rumours first started. That's when I began to recall the signs. The fact that in the last four years he had never mentioned suffering from migraines. How he'd been awfully scared when I'd asked. The terrible mood swings. He had been quite a fun guy. We used to hang out all the time and then all of a sudden he'd closed of. Didn't interact with the rest of us much anymore. At that time we'd all thought it was because his long time girlfriend had broken up with him. We figured he was just going through a lot."

"Are you sure about all this?"

Joshua gave her a pointed look.

"I don't have proof, if that's what you mean. All I can tell you is that Alex had been struggling ever since senior year started. His timing deteriorated. He couldn't keep up with training. Burnout happens to all us. But the way he suddenly jumped back in a matter of days was nothing short of a miracle. I hated to think this way of a friend but I'm not the only way. The other guys have been wondering too."

"But why would he try to frame you?"

He gave her an exasperated look.

"I didn't even know I was being framed until you mentioned this. Maybe he realised I found out. Everything had been so messed up, I think it was easier for me to believe that the person who I loved the most was somehow behind all this. Even though it seems so stupid now. I guess I just had to prove it to myself that I am better off without her. That's why I was so keen on you investigating. " Joshua shook his head. "Honestly I don't know anything anymore."

"And if you did suspect something why didn't you inform somebody?"

Looking away he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Nancy, I don't know how much you know about me but I'm here on a scholarship. My father died when I was very young and my mother tried her best to support me and my sister. But there was never enough. And this was before the diagnosis and the medical bills. I'm not kidding when I say we're drowning in debt. If I lose my spot on the team, I lose my scholarship. And there is no way I can afford to stay here."

For the first time, Nancy noticed the dark circles under his eyes. How he worked two jobs and always looked tired. Her heart contracted with sympathy.

"Most sportspersons dream of making a career in their respective fields. I don't. I need something more stable. Something that will help pay the bills and give my family the life they deserve. Emerson was going to give me that opportunity by providing me with the degree. And I'm so close, Nancy. Just a few more months until graduation. Alex is Coach Wheeler's only son. I respect the coach but you must understand why I couldn't risk it. But now that Ned's in danger, I'll do anything."

Nancy reached over and gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze.

"I know you will. And we'll find Ned. Tell me have you seen Alex around?"

"No. He stayed away from college for around two weeks while recuperating from his injury. Actually Coach was the one who informed us. After returning, he didn't come for practice. I've seen him around only a couple of times but then again I've been awfully busy."

She nodded in understanding and went ahead to relate everything that had transpired since they'd met in the morning. Joshua listened in shocked silence.

"So checking Alex's house should be the first step. But how are we going to do that if he's somehow keeping a track on us?" He finally asked.

She had been thinking about this too and an idea had started forming in her head. It was risky but..there was no time to deliberate.

"I think I know a way we can use that to our advantage." She smiled, getting up. "But first we need to go shopping."


	17. Chapter 17

**Part 4**

"I'll be fine! Stop worrying, Nan. Joshua and you are both my friends. This is the least I can do." Sarah protested from her seat in front of the mirror.

Nancy took one last hard look at her. Sarah was almost the same height as Nancy. Now with her wearing Nancy's clothes, her short hair covered by a red blond wig and her green eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, they looked like twins.

Which had been the plan when Nancy had called her friend for help. Sarah had instantly agreed. They were lucky that they didn't even have to shopping for wigs. She already owned one from theatre and all they'd had to do was straighten out the curls to match Nancy's hair texture.

"I'm not worrying. But promise me you'll call the police if you feel even the slightest bit threatened." She said, hugging her roommate.

"I promise. And I'm also going to call the police if you're not back in two hours." Sarah replied with a look that said she meant it.

They wished each other good luck and then the other girl left. Nancy took another look in the mirror. In a nondescript dark sweatshirt and jeans, her hair pulled up into her cap that she'd drawn low over her face, she was sure she wouldn't draw any attention.

Here was the plan. Sarah was going to take Nancy's car and meet up with Joshua. Then pretending to be Nancy, they were going to drive around and visit some of the places Ned had last been seen in such as the lake and the gym. Giving Nancy enough time to check out Alex's house.

She was counting on three things for her plan to work. One. Alex was still following her. Two. He was working alone. Three. He wouldn't come close enough to figure out it was Sarah in her place. The last one she was certain of. She couldn't recall seeing him around and with Joshua there, he wouldn't dare.

She waited fifteen minutes before making her way to Sarah's car. Then taking a deep breath, she drove away.

It took her almost thirty minutes to reach Alex's apartment. She'd learned that although his father lived on campus, he had moved off campus at the beginning of his senior year. But she'd never expected it to be this far away from college.

New text message from Ned.

_Look in the lake, detective. Maybe your boyfriend's there._

Nancy grinned. Her plan was working.

She parked in an alley a block away and quickly made her way up the stairs of the three storey building. The place itself looked shady with the paint peeling and 'To-Let' signs covering most of the windows. Why would Alex choose to live here when he had a perfectly nice place with his father? Unless he had something to hide?

Not letting her nerves take over, Nancy put her ear against the door and listened for a minute. Not hearing anything, she quickly took out her lock picking tool and jimmied the lock.

The house was completely dark. Using a flashlight to guide herself she took a quick stock of the house. She didn't find anything suspicious in the living room or the kitchen. Which left only the two bedrooms to be checked out.

The first one had an unmade bed, probably the one Alex slept in. The door of the other room was shut.

Her pulse racing, Nancy opened it and walked inside. Only to trip over something on the floor.

Stopping herself from screaming she shined her flashlight on the floor and her heart stopped. Ned was lying prone on the floor, his hands and feet tied. A red stain covered one side of his t-shirt.

Shaking with fear, Nancy dropped to her knees and put her ear against his chest. Thank God, he was still breathing. His pulse was weak but steady.

But that wound...

Gingerly, she lifted his shirt. An ugly gash about an inch and a half wide covered his left side. Most of it had scabbed over but there was a tiny trickle of blood still flowing.

Anger bubbled in her. It looked like a stab wound but she couldn't be sure. What had Alex done to him?

Not wanting to risk infecting it, she took out a clean handkerchief and dressed it as well as she could to stem the flow.

But no matter what she did, Ned wouldn't wake up, his head rolling lifelessly onto his side.

She had hoped they would be able to escape first and then go to the police. But there was no way she would be able to get him to the car in this state. She had to call them now.

Nancy knew she had spent too much time debating when the sound of the front door opening interrupted the dead quiet.

The room was bare with only a single bed in one corner of the room. Not waiting to think, she dived under it and pressed herself against the wall.

She realised a second too late what she had done wrong. She'd forgotten to close the door. And she had lost her phone somewhere on the floor.

The only thing she could do now was pray that Alex would not notice.

But of course he did. She heard footsteps coming closer and then suddenly stopping. A light switched on and Nancy had to press deeper into the shadow. She could hear shuffling but the angle of her position was such that she couldn't see what was going on without risking discovery.

A deep throaty laughter broke the silence, sending a chill down her spine. It didn't sound like it belonged to a sane person.

Before she could quite recover from the fear, the footsteps came closer at alarming speed. All she could see was a pair of white sneakers before a hand reached in and grabbed her.

As she was being dragged out, Nancy caught a glimpse of angry blue eyes and dark hair. The smiling poster boy from the Emerson flyers was nowhere in sight.

She jammed her elbow into his stomach with all her might and Alex grunted, just slightly loosening his hold on her.

She had a swiss knife in her pocket. If only she could get her hand loose... Twisting around, she tried to wrench herself free but he was too strong.

She tried a backward kick but he didn't let go of her as they stumbled against the wall. He had one hand around her collar now.

No matter what she tried, she couldn't unfree herself as he turned her and pushed her towards the wall.

His rage filled eyes was the last thing Nancy saw before he slammed her head against the wall and the world went dark.


	18. Chapter 18

Her head throbbed painfully as Nancy slowly came back into consciousness. For a second, she couldn't remember where she and she panicked when she couldn't move her arms or legs. Then it all came rushing back to her.

She was on the floor, her hands and feet tied, her back against something hard. Opening her eyes slowly, she took bearing of her surroundings. It took a while for eyes to adjust to the dark but she soon realised that she was still in the room. She could make out Ned's form a couple of feet to her left.

So Alex had left them alone for the while. But what did he have in mind for them?

She didn't know how long she'd been out and whether Alex was still in the house but she knew she had to take advantage of being alone.

Wriggling her tied hands behind her back, she tried to reach into her pocket. Thank God, the knife was still there.

Very slowly and painfully, she managed to get it out. It was even more difficult to get it to open with her numb fingers but ultimately she did. Then slowly she began to saw through her bonds.

She had just managed to cut into about half the ropes when she heard a high pitched female voice somewhere in the house. Her senses heightened, she strained to hear what the woman was saying but couldn't make out the words. Where had she heard that voice?

Just then she heard footsteps coming towards her. She had barely managed to shift her position to completely conceal her hands before the light flicked on.

"Up so soon, Drew?" Alex face swam into her vision.

"How do you know me?"

"He didn't. I did. You're sort of famous in River Heights. Detective extraordinaire. What a joke." Kourtney waltzed into the room, sharpening a blade.

Alex put an arm around her waist.

"I suppose you've already met my girlfriend."

Girlfriend! Nancy suddenly realised that it hadn't been Alex who was stalking her. It had been Kourtney. In fact she remembered seeing her around. The conspiracy ran deeper than she could have ever imagined.

"We read the messages your boyfriend sent you. We knew you were going to be trouble when I saw you earlier today on campus. And you were with that wild goose chase you just sent me on." The way Kourtney had her knife pointed at Nancy was unnerving her.

"She's gonna pay for that, babe." Alex crooned to her. "Did you send the message?"

"Uh huh." Kourtney bent down and flashed Nancy's phone in her face.

_Ned's not here, Josh. I think we were wrong. Checking out something else. Meet me by the fountain in the park at 10:30._

Nancy quickly checked the time before Kourtney snatched away the phone. It was 9:45.

"Well I better go and meet your friend." Kourtney smiled at her, tucking the knife in her boot.

Nancy had less that forty five minutes to save Joshua.

"Why did you kidnap Ned?" She turned towards Alex once Kourtney had left.

"Same reason you're here. You meddled in my business."

"But why? You had everything." She had to keep him talking to distract him from noticing that she was discreetly trying to cut the ropes binding her wrists.

Alex's face twisted into a crooked smile.

"Well curious, aren't you? Let me tell you a story. I was eight when my brother Alan died. Barely eighteen but already set to become one of the greatest sportsmen the country would see. It was obvious he was my father's favourite and his death broke my father. And then he turned to me. Dedicated his entire life towards making me the athlete his older son would've become."

He laughed, an ugly humourless laugh.

"And he was successful. After a while I started to realise what this life brought. Popularity, girls, awards, money. And the main thing. Believe me, Nancy I've tried a lot of things. But there is no high like the high of victory."

Nancy had almost gotten her hands loose now..

"For a while, all was great. Before everything started to go wrong. The losses. Injuries. And I craved that high. Needed it. That's when I met Kourtney. Her brother deals these drugs. Some of this stuff won't even come up in tests. Again for a while things were good. I'd messed up just once and Joshua had seen them but I was sure I had him fooled."

"Then the rumours started. Of course I had been wrong and he had been the one to spread them. So I started sending him the notes, hoping he'd be scared enough to quit the team. I know enough about his family to know he would never be able to afford Emerson without the scholarship. But when he didn't, I decided to go a step further. Kill two birds with one stone if you may. I put a bottle of pills in his kit and sent in an anonymous letter to my father suggesting he do a check that day. But Joshua must've told and my father must have believed him because that evening when I returned home I found him sitting here, my stash spread out on the coffee table."

Alex gritted his teeth.

"Do you know, Nancy, what it feels like for your only family to choose someone over you? I do. Because that day, my father told me he was disowning me. He would not let me participate in any competitions coming up- the University Championships next month, the Europe Meet, the Decathlon. Instead, he was going to ask the university to sponsor Josh while I was supposed to feign injury and quit. Permanently. These are the tournaments that would ultimately get me into the Olympics and my father was just giving away the one thing I'd worked my whole life for. To the person who had ruined everything for me. He said he was doing me a favour by not letting the administration know so that I can get my degree. This coming from a man I've worked the last sixteen years to please." He spat.

"What were you going to do to Josh?"

"Believe me, nobody was going to get hurt. Only if Josh had realised what's good for him. When he didn't I made another plan. What if he was to lethally overdose on some of these drugs?" The frankness in his voice sent a shiver down Nancy's voice.

"And then he involved your boyfriend. Asking all these questions. I saw him hanging around my father's house. Obviously trying to collect evidence to show the Dean. Now I have to get rid of all three of you." He said it as if it was just a minor inconvenience.

So Alex hadn't realised how flawed his plan was. So many people already knew what he was up to.

Her hands were loose now. But her feet were still bound...

"You'd never pull it off." She mocked.

"What makes you think so?" He sneered, bending down to her level, his faces inches from her.

Nancy didn't wait. Swinging her arm as hard as she could, she punched him in the nose. At the same time, she used her feet to trip him. She was ready to use the knife if need be, but in the end she didn't have to. Alex's skull hit the floor with a dull thud and he was out in an instant.

After cutting the bonds around her ankles, Nancy searched around the house till she found a phone. Ned's. And then she called the police.


	19. Chapter 19

**Part 6**

Nancy sat on a stool in the hospital ward and glanced worriedly at Ned, still asleep on the bed.

The last few hours were a blur now. Help had arrived within minutes, reason being Joshua and Sarah had gone to the police even before Nancy had called them. Nancy had to go to the precinct with them to give her statement while Ned had been whisked away in an ambulance.

She had rushed back as soon as she could only to find that Ned was in surgery. He had been stabbed just like she had suspected.

The one hour wait when she had been given no other news had been torturous. She had used that time to call his parents and her father and tearfully explain what had happened. They were already on their way here.

When the doctor had finally called and updated her, she had been so relieved it had taken quite some effort to not scream the place down. Although Ned had lost blood and he had needed stitches, he had been lucky the injury hadn't caused any major damage. The reason he had been out for so long was that he had been drugged heavily. They expected him to wake up anytime now and so she had been allowed to stay with him.

But now looking at him still asleep, IV drip in his wrist, she wondered if she had celebrated too soon. Every time she looked at how pale he was, her heart broke a little. What if the doctor had been wrong?

Nancy took his hand and laced it with hers, seeking comfort from how familiar it felt. She was so tired. She had been on her feet since early morning and it was already hours after midnight.

Nancy had just started drifting off from exhaustion when she felt his hand twitching slightly against hers. Every trace of fatigue vanished as she waited for him to wake up.

Ned blinked a few times. "Nancy?"

"Yeah, baby. How are you feeling?" She asked softly as she gently helped him sit up.

"Okay I guess. Where am I?" He asked, his voice gruff.

"Emersonville Hospital. Do you remember what happened?"

He thought for a moment before answering. "It's coming back. Joshua.. Alex Wheeler... I was stabbed?"

She nodded sadly and then proceeded to tell him what all had happened. Sometime between this, the doctor came in to check on him and Nancy was glad when he declared that Ned would be discharged in a day or so if he promised to take it easy for a while.

"Wow." He said when she was finally done, a dazed expression on his face.

"Ned, why didn't you suspect Joshua after what you'd heard from Sheena?" She wanted him to rest but there were still a few gaps in the story that were nagging her.

"Mostly because he is a friend and I trusted him. Why would he go to the trouble of sending himself threats for no apparent reason? But I obviously couldn't just rely on my gut feelings regarding this. So after I left Sheena, I went to the tracks to confront Josh."

"But you didn't meet him then, did you?" Nancy was confused.

"No. Because I saw Coach Wheeler leaving his office and on a hunch I decided to take a look. I found two notes buried in his drawer. One just said if the Coach knew what's good for his team, he should have a look in Joshua's kit that day. It was exactly like the ones Josh had received. The other was a printed letter with very comprehensive details about how "Jefferson" was hiding drugs in his house. Both were unsigned. I knew they had something to do with the case."

"What did you do next?"

"Josh had already left for work by then. I couldn't even catch him at the house. I had some time so I went down to the faculty accommodations to see if I could make my way into the Coach's house. Get more info on who this Jefferson was."

"Wait! So you didn't know that was Alex's middle name?"

Ned shook his head.

"I didn't know him personally. Remembered hearing it once way too late. By then I was already sitting in his car with a knife in my side. I hung out around Coach's place for a while but he was home so I decided to go meet Josh. You know that short cut which cuts through the woods? I was halfway through when I felt like someone was following me. Next thing I knew two people jumped me. I tried to fight back before I realised they had a knife and were willing to use it. They forced me to walk to their car. By then I wasn't feeling so brave. I don't remember much after that but I think I passed out about fifteen minutes after they started driving and then woke up here."

That made sense. Ned's car had been found abandoned in a field off the highway. They had probably returned and stolen it to create the impression that Ned had left on his own will. And they had already confessed to attempting to hack into his accounts to find what he had been up to.

"Kara Foster wrote that letter to Mr Wheeler."

Ned's eyes grew wide with recognition.

"Alex's ex girlfriend? They were already broken up when I joined but I'd heard that they were a hot thing before. How'd you find out?"

"She was here an hour ago. She's known since last summer. Suspecting Alex of cheating on her, she did some spying. Turned out, his affair with Kourtney wasn't the only thing he was hiding. It freaked her out because she had been arrested as a juvenile once. For possession. And she had trusted him enough to let him know about that part of her life she never wanted to go back to. Kara was afraid Alex would reveal the past she had kept so long a secret."

The girl had been a nervous wreck when she had come to meet Nancy on hearing what had happened. She blamed herself because she had been too scared to choose the direct path to punish Alex. Instead she had been the one who had spread the rumours in the first place. It had only been a coincidence that she had sent that letter the same day as Alex.

"She's giving her statement to the police. In any case, Alex and Kourtney are going to be in prison for a long time for assault, kidnapping and attempted murder." Nancy added.

Ned was quiet for a while. Then he took her hand and placed it against his chest.

"Thank you, Nan. For saving me." He grinned suddenly and pretending to hold a microphone, spoke exaggeratedly. "In a modern retelling of a fairy tale, a beautiful and brave princess saved a handsome but helpless prince from the evil ogres. It was dramatic.."

At that, Nancy couldn't hold it back any more. She burst into tears. It had been so tough to plug her emotions, to be brave for sake of his family and friends. But inside, she had been terrified. Terrified of never finding him again. And when she had, terrified that he wouldn't make it. There had been soo much blood..She didn't know what she would have done if something had happened to him.

She let Ned pull her into the comfortable circle of his embrace.

"I'm okay, baby. We're both okay." He murmured against her hair as he wiped away her tears.

When she felt better, she gave him a long bear hug.

"Easy there, grizzly. Stab wound!"

Nancy immediately jerked back. "I'm so sorry!"

But his eyes were dancing. "One kiss and I'll forgive you."

The kiss she gave him was no joke. When they finally parted, she could feel her head spinning.

But Ned didn't let her go. Instead, he pulled her into another hug.

"I'm not hurting you?"

"I think I'm going to take advantage of the anaesthesia as long as its available." He smiled.

"I was so scared, Nan. For a while I thought I'd never get to do this again." He added softly.

"I love you, Ned. And I'll always find you." Nancy whispered against his chest.

"I know you will. I love you too, Nan." He whispered back as he ran his fingers through her hair.

His parents would be here soon. Most of Omega Chi was currently in the waiting room waiting for a chance to meet him. And Ned needed his rest.

Nancy knew that in a while she would have to leave. But right now, that was the last thing on her mind as Ned held her and she heard the reassuring sound of his heart beating against her heart. And she thanked every one of her lucky stars for keeping him alive.

**The End**


	20. Chapter 20

**_Their third anniversary doesn't really go as planned._**

* * *

Ned examined the scratches on his arm as he dried his hair.

For a three day camping trip, he wasn't the worse for wear.

Not that they had done much camping after all. That had been obvious when barely an hour after arriving at the camp, someone from their group had gone missing.

Thankfully, it had been one of Nancy's quicker and less dangerous cases. They had both gotten away with only a tumble into the dry bramble.

Ned sighed heavily. Today was their three year anniversary. But other than the hour they'd spent picking out twigs from each other's hair when they had finally arrived at the motel earlier this evening, they hadn't spent much time alone at all. Tomorrow they would return to River Heights, and the day after he would be back at Emerson.

He loved watching her work. But sometimes, just sometimes he wished that their trips were just..trips.

Especially this one. Nancy hadn't been comfortable asking her father for permission to go on a vacation with him until she had turned eighteen and so this had been the first trip they had taken alone. Just the two of them. No parents, no George and Bess for miles around.

Not that he thought Mr Drew would say no to another vacation if they could find the time for it. Although initially a bit intimidated by him, over the years Ned had come to realise that Nancy's father was quite fond of him.

Strangely, it made Ned even more eager to please him and earn his trust. Which is why they made sure to get separate tents. Even their rooms here at the motel were on different floors, as far away from each other as physically possible.

Neither of them were ready to take the next step at the moment. They hadn't even shared a bed yet. And the last thing he wanted was their parents to assume they had done much more.

Which is why he was surprised when barely seconds later, he heard a knock against the door and opening it he found Nancy standing there, the biggest grin plastered on her face.

She held up her hands, one of which held a big tub of ice cream and the other a couple of spoons.

"I was craving dessert. Thankfully the little store we saw across the street was still open. How does butter pecan and a movie sound?"

"Incredible." He grinned as he ushered her into the room, his insides instantly warming up. Despite the mood he had been in, she still had that effect on him.

They put the ice cream in the mini fridge while they made a little fort out of pillows on the queen size bed. The sheets were clean but worn, the lights too bright, the TV too small. All in all it wasn't too romantic a setting. But they tried.

They found an old romantic comedy playing that they had both intended to sometime watch but never gotten around to. Settling against the pillows, Ned pulled the comforter around them. Smiling, Nancy snuggled into his side, the tub of ice cream between them.

The movie was interesting but Ned's mind was on something else. During a commercial break, he glanced over at her.

For the past couple of days, it had seemed like she was on the edge. They had been planning this for weeks and for the longest time she had been so excited. Until they were here and suddenly she wasn't. Even with a mystery around.

More than once, Ned had asked himself if he had unknowingly done something wrong. But looking at her now, it seemed like she was back to being herself. He could actually feel the tension in her loosening.

Also, in a soft cotton top and jeans, her face scrubbed pink and her hair smelling fresh and still a little damp from the shower, she did look pretty cute.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, looking at him through her lashes.

"Just admiring the view."

"Cheesy." She rolled her eyes.

But she was laughing, so he leaned in for a kiss, his hands tangled in her hair, her mouth soft and sweet.

"You didn't really want ice cream, did you?"

For a second, she just looked at him and he was almost sure she was going to protest. But in the end she just gave him a small smile.

"You know me too well. I just wanted to make it up to you."

"What for?"

Picking an invisible thread on his tshirt, she sighed softly.

"Look at us, Ned. We've been here three days and this is the first time we've actually really been together."

"We spent time together while we were out looking for Brandon." He offered.

"You know, sometimes you're too nice to me." She said, reaching up to cup his cheek. "But I know that this was not what you had in mind for a couple's trip. And neither did I. I'm glad we figured out the case and nobody got hurt. But if I had a choice between staying with you, even if we're just sitting at home not doing anything and a new mystery, I would always choose you. And I need you to know that."

So this was why she had been so distant. She blamed herself for what she thought was a ruined vacation.

"I already know that. So this trip didn't turn out like we had thought. So what? It's the first, not the last. There will be more."

"Once I graduate." She looked at him hopefully.

"The whole summer. Just the two of us." And it was a promise.

Nancy smiled and bit her lip, an act that always made him go a little crazy. When he kissed her, she was eager to receive him, her lips already parted and her eyes full of love.

The movie was long forgotten as their embrace grew deeper and hungrier until they were both panting, lost in each other's arms. Giggling, they finally broke apart and settled back against the pillows when they realised that the characters were in a scene similar to theirs.

Nancy yawned as the credits started rolling.

"I should get back to my room. We have a long drive back tomorrow."

Rolling over, she started to get off the bed when he held her back by her wrist.

"Stay."

Ned realised a second too late what he had done. Without intending to, he had spoken aloud what had been on his mind.

An unreadable, almost panicky expression flitted across Nancy's face. She pressed her lips together.

"Ned, you know I'm not ready for that yet.."

"Not that. I meant just sleeping side by side. Sharing a bed."

He watched her consider it. He hadn't intended to say it out loud but now that he had, he realised how important her answer would be. He had meant it from the depths of his being that all he wanted was them to just share a bed. Now, he wondered whether Nancy trusted him enough to believe it.

"I think that will be okay." She smiled, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.

He could feel the change in the atmosphere of the room as they tidied up and got ready for bed. In fact, he had been expecting it. Maybe not for many others, but this was a significant step in their relationship. Sure, they had taken naps together dozens of times, sneaked into each other's bedrooms at night. But they had never slept in the same bed for a whole night.

"Can I borrow something to sleep in?"

He found her the softest tshirt he had brought. Suddenly shy, he turned away and was just about to make an excuse to go to the bathroom when she stopped him.

"Help me?"

By the time he turned, she had already taken off her jeans and was bashfully fiddling with the hem of her top. When she raised her arms over her head, he covered the distance between them until they were almost touching.

Then slowly, he lifted her shirt over her head, letting his fingertips trail softly over her curves. Nancy instinctively covered her chest with her hands before she slowly let them fall to her sides until she was standing there, her hair falling free over her shoulders, a flush rising on her skin.

Pale mauve. A matching set of the softest fabric.

He had always imagined that it wouldn't feel any different from a bikini. But somehow, in a way he couldn't quite explain, it was entirely different.

She was so beautiful.

And then before he knew it, she had pulled on his shirt which hung loose around her slender figure, barely covering the tops of her thighs.

Ned realised he was going to dream about seeing her like this.

He was already in bed by the time she emerged from the bathroom, her hair tied in a loose nighttime ponytail.

He could get used to this. He could _definitely_ get used to this.

She put one knee on the bed and then stopped.

"Nothing's happening, right?"

He reached over and took her hand.

"Only sleep, baby."

Smiling shyly, she climbed in beside him and switched off the bedside lamp plunging the room into darkness, interrupted only by the dim moonlight filtering through the draperies.

Nancy cuddled up close to him and tucked in her head in the nape of his neck.

"You know, you're just like this big teddy bear I had when I was little. Only more muscle-ly."

"Well, there goes my reputation." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Cuddly is good." She laughed. "We should do this more often."

"Mhmhm." He felt her smile against his chest as he pulled her closer, her long bare legs already tangled with his, their arms wrapped tight around each other.

"Happy Anniversary, baby. I love you." She mumbled sleepily.

"I love you too, Nan. Happy anniversary. Now sleep." He kissed her forehead and they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Maybe the vacation hadn't started out so great. But the end couldn't have been more perfect.


	21. Chapter 21

**_There's something about a church..._**

**This scene somewhat follows the events of Files 14: This Side of Evil, although with certain modifications to suit the different timescale.**

**There's a scene in the book where they are enjoying a chaise ride in Montreal and pass the Notre Dame where Nancy imagines her wedding day with Ned. He's just about to say something back but *of course* they are interrupted when their carriage almost overturns.**

**This story refers to that scene but I've edited out all major spoilers in case you haven't read the book :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew or the Nancy Drew Files and I do not make any money from my work. I'm just borrowing the characters for a story.**

* * *

"Honestly guys, just go have fun. I'll be fine I swear!" George shouted for the tenth time as she propelled them towards the door of the apartment they had been sharing.

"Jeez, woman! Let me just grab my camera, okay?" Nancy heard Ned shout back as he tried to maneuver around George.

Nancy laughed. George was force to be reckoned with when she was determined. And right now she was determined to get the two of them out of the house.

Ned managed to get hold of his camera before George shut the door in their face.

"Bye!" She shouted, the door not muffling her gleeful chortle.

They chuckled all the way down the lift at how they had been kicked out of their own apartment.

"So George is going out with that guy she met at the club. Louis I think?" Ned finally said, when they were in the lobby.

"Why do you think so?" Nancy gasped.

"I don't just think so, my dear. I know." He smirked.

"How?"

"You see. I've known George exactly as long as I have known you. And there's only one person who's worse than Bess when she has a crush."

"George." Nancy laughed.

"Uhhuh. Especially when she tries so hard to hide her feelings."

Nancy understood. It wasn't like George to fall for a guy she wouldn't ever be seeing once they returned back to the States the next day.

"But how are you so sure?"

"Very discrete detective work, my love." Ned replied, putting an arm around her shoulder as they walked out into the streets of Montreal.

Nancy gave him a friendly jab in the ribs.

"Out with it, Nickerson."

"Okay. Okay!" He held up his hands in surrender. "Louis called earlier this morning while you were asleep. It was funny watching George try to translate the French that fast." He laughed, looking at his watch. "I think he's coming to pick her up in about an hour."

Nancy smiled. She'd thought the reason George had been so keen on getting them out was because she hated to be babysat. But if it was because she was a little shy about her sudden infatuation, Nancy was happy to play along. After the events of yesterday, it was necessary.

Plus a little time alone with Ned..

"I'm just glad you know. I've never seen George so scared. It had me really worried." Ned said, reflecting her own thoughts.

"Me too." Nancy said, linking her fingers with his. "But now that it's just the two of us, what do you want to do?"

"I read somewhere that Mount Royal Park is good for bird photography this time of the year. I was hoping to get some shots." He said, gesturing at his camera. "But before that..."

"We gotta eat because I can hear your stomach growling from a mile away."

"Aah Nancy Drew, always so observant." Ned grinned. "This is why I love you."

They walked down to an Italian restaurant at the corner of the street and had a light meal of spaghetti and then took a cab to the famous park.

As Ned took some shots, Nancy received a message from George.

_Louis wanted to hang out. Be back in a few hours._

When she told Ned, a sly smile crossed his face.

"You know, I'm hoping she has a good time. Good enough that I won't feel guilty about asking her to take the couch tonight." He winked, pulling her closer.

"And you'll take the floor so that I can have the whole bed to myself? What a gentleman!" Nancy teased, feigning innocence.

"Hey!"

She giggled and took of running when he started tickling her. Catching up to her, he swung her around until Nancy felt giddy with happiness.

An hour or so later, they hired a boat and paddled to the middle of the lake. Far away from the shore, Ned pulled her against his chest, the boat bobbing over the gentle water. Neither of them spoke, just enjoying the soft breeze and the feel of their arms around each other.

It was at times like this when Nancy realised how much she missed him when he was away. And how more often than not, she only realised it when it was too late.

It was pathetic how easy it was for her to forget the thousand promises, to go back on her words and take him for granted. Too busy chasing thrills , she had forgotten what it felt like to be home. How good it felt to be with him.

He had almost always been extremely understanding but she understood why sometimes the frustration got to him. This was what he wanted for them and he put in effort for it. Only for her to cancel dates and go chasing after some criminal. Again and again, a vicious cycle.

He had never asked her to give up her passion or to change, but she wanted to. Wanted to be there for him just like he had been there for her.

And she tried. Sometimes one step forward and two steps back but she tried. And one day, she was going to be ready to settle down.

Later as they walked through the green shady trails, Ned gently pushed her against a tree and kissed her, long and hard, his solid warm body pressed tight against her. As they clung together for several minutes, Nancy felt her knees weaken until his strong grasp was the only thing holding her up.

"To be continued tonight." He whispered against her ear as he traced a thumb across her lower lip. His husky voice sent a warm tingle all the way down to her toes.

"Fancy a chaise ride again?" Ned asked her much later as they walked around the Notre Dame square.

"I think once was enough." Nancy laughed.

He took her hand and they looked up at the old Gothic church, marvelling at the architecture.

All at once, Nancy remembered what she had been thinking the last time when they had been here, two days ago.

She had wanted to get married. To Ned.

It wasn't that she had never fantasized about her wedding. She had, many times gone through her parent's wedding albums, imagined what she would look like in the yards of white silk, what the decorations would be like, what George and Bess would wear.

So far it had only been about her, the exterior of it all. Just something that may or may not happen in the future.

But it was only recently that she had started to see beyond just a wedding, to a marriage. Two people sharing the rest of their lives together.

The person waiting at the altar. And it was going to be Ned. It was always going to be Ned.

"There's something about a church that.." She didn't think before she started to speak.

"Makes you want to get married." Ned finished for her.

She was so shocked it took her a whole minute to really comprehend what he had meant. She had been expecting him to be surprised, maybe even a little freaked out. But in the end he had been the one to surprise her.

"How did you read my mind?"

He looked into her eyes and smiled.

"I didn't. But this was what I had been thinking and I wanted you to know. Now just seemed like a good time."

"How long have you been thinking so?"

"A while. I always knew someday I wanted to get married. But Nan? I want to get married to you. Not now of course. Maybe in a few years. If you want to, that is." He searched her eyes for a reply.

Nancy took a deep breath and forced herself to say her next words.

"Even if I get licensed, take up what I do as a career and I'm never home?"

In a strange way, she was glad when he took a moment to answer. This wasn't a proposal but it seemed like a promise. A promise for their future. And the last thing she wanted was for them to build it on false hope.

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Even then." He said softly. "Although I'd hope that you would be more willing to consider my services as a personal body guard slash assistant"

Grinning, he counted off his fingers. "Available 24/7 anywhere and everywhere. Outside chasing crooks, in the kitchen when you can't reach the top shelf, while shopping, in the the shower if you need someone to wash your hair, in bed if you fee.."

Nancy shut him up with a kiss.

"I'd like to get married too, Ned. To you. In a few years. Maybe after we're both done with college. Also, you're impossible." She whispered.

He chuckled against her ear.

"Nancy Drew, is that a deal?"

"It is."

"So what's in going to be like? Old church, or fancy castle or.."

"Or at the beach or maybe in a boat.."

"Or maybe we could just elope.."

"Bess would be so mad." Nancy laughed imagining her friend's reaction on being deprived of the chance to be a bridesmaid.

"Bess would be so mad." He agreed. "She might just kill us both if we do that."

They both giggled at the thought.

He offered her his hand and she took it.

"So we have a few years. We will figure it out." He leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"We will." She smiled up at him as they walked back to their apartment.


	22. Chapter 22

**_Ned learns that Nancy has been poisoned._**

**_This story follows the events of Nancy Drew Files: 30 Death by Design._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Nancy Drew or the Nancy Drew Files and I do not make any money from my work. I'm just borrowing the characters for a story._**

* * *

Ned stared at the phone on the bedside table, willing it to ring. Some news from the hospital. Something. Anything.

_Poison_. The word circulated in his brain, leaving in his mind its own path of destruction.

It felt so unreal. Like any second, he was going to wake up and it would all be an awful nightmare.

The dim moonlight filtering in through the drapes cast a pale shadow over her sleeping form. _Eight hours_. That's how long she had.

He clenched and unclenched his fist. Anger bubbled through him at the injustice of it all. It had never been meant for her. All she had wanted to do was help.

When he had punched Paul earlier in the morning, he hadn't regretted it. Not for a second. Not until he had been sure that Paul wasn't the one who had done this to her.

He would kill if something happened to Nancy.

But something was happening to her. Inside.

She had felt like a feather weight when he had carried her up to her room, although it was impossible that she had lost pounds in just a couple of days. Her red hair looked like it was on fire against her pallor, pale as the sheets.

He knew that she was trying to put up a tough front, trying to be strong for the sake of him and Bess, using the little strength she still had left. But even then he had never, ever seen her this physically weak. Seen her suffer so much.

His insides twisted in pain. He'd hoped the doctors had been wrong, that there had been some mistake, that she didn't have just hours left to live.

But who was he kidding? Nancy could barely stand. He had had to carry her to her bedroom. She had been out like a lamp the second she had hit the bed, still fully dressed.

It had been an unanimous decision between him and Bess. Someone had to keep an eye on her. His throat closed up at the words that had been left unsaid.

If something happened in the middle of the night. If there was no one around and Nancy was too weak to call for help.

_"Please, please, ask her to come to the hospital. We will try and make her as comfortable as possible."_

The doctor he had spoken to had said. There had been no talk of recovery, no assurance of finding the antidote.

All they had been able to guarantee was a comfortable death.

Bess had to come to relieve him an hour ago but he had sent her back. There was no way he was getting any sleep tonight and at least one of them needed the strength to deal with whatever the morning was going to bring.

_Seven hours._

Nancy shivered in her sleep. Ned got up from his seat beside her bed and pulled the duvet tighter around her.

A hand reached out and lightly grasped his.

"I'm cold."

Wordlessly, he climbed in behind her and wrapped his arms around her trembling body. She turned towards him and tucked her head in the nape of his neck. Her cheek was feverishly warm against his chest, even through his shirt.

It was a few minutes later when he realised that she wasn't shivering any more. She was crying.

"Nan." He whispered against her hair.

The tears she had been trying so hard to hide turned into gut-wrenching sobs. With each shudder of her body against his, his heart broke into a billion tiny pieces until he wasn't sure whether there was anything left.

"I don't want to die, Ned."

"You're not going to die."

"Everything hurts. So much." Her voice didn't hide how much.

The pain he felt was physical. A deep hollow pain right in his chest.

He couldn't do anything to take away her suffering. Couldn't do anything but rub her back and try to assure her with words he himself didn't quite believe.

He lifted her chin and wiped away the tears with the ball of his thumb.

"I know, baby."

When she kissed him, it was desperate. Hungry. Her body pressed tight against him. And for a second he wanted her too. So much. Just once, just one night, if that's all fate had for them.

Then his fingers brushed her ribs and he winced. Cursed himself for even thinking something like that now.

She was in pain. She was _dying_.

"Nancy, no." He gently pushed her away. "You need rest, baby."

For a moment she didn't say anything and then he saw a flicker of an unreadable expression flit across her face. She shook her head slowly.

"I have been trying to."

He brushed away a stray lock of hair from her forehead.

"Let's talk about the suspects, okay? You'll feel sleepy after a while. I think we can eliminate Paul..."

Nancy's eyes glistened in the dark.

"Don't you see it, Ned? I can't do anything. Can't think. Can't stand on my own two feet. I..I don't think I have a lot of time left." Her voice was barely a whisper.

It felt like a stab in the heart. To see the strongest person he knew so hopeless and broken.

"What are you going to tell Dad?" Her voice cracked.

He put his palms on her face and forced her to look into his eyes.

"Look at me, Nan. There would be nothing to tell." He refused to let his emotions come to the surface. She was counting on him to be her strength when she didn't have any of her own left and he was not going to let her down.

"Tomorrow, we're going to find the poisoner. And if you don't feel well in the morning, you're going to go the hospital. Bess and I will find him for you, I promise you."

"Okay." She gave a small nod.

He pressed his lips to hers.

"And if it takes us a while to find him, promise me you're not going to stop fighting. Promise me." He swallowed the sob rising in his throat.

"I promise."

He kissed her forehead, her eyes, her cheeks, the corner of her mouth.

"Tomorrow evening, everything will be alright. And then back at home, we'll throw a huge party to celebrate. Call everyone."

"That does sound nice." She gave him a small smile. The first real one he'd seen since he had arrived.

"But it'll all be a little overwhelming. So you and I, we'll sneak away. Go on a long drive. Maybe to that spot over looking the river. Where we used to go back in school. Have a little midnight picnic."

"Just the two of us?"

"Just the two of us."

"I can't wait." She murmured, exhaustion clear in her voice.

He stroked her back until she slowly fell asleep. Then after making sure she was warm enough, he got up and went back to his chair, only one thought consuming his entire mind.

_Six hours_.

Bess watched Ned pace up and down the length of the hospital waiting room.

He hadn't sat down once since they had gotten here.

_I think we're losing her. If the antidote's not ready within the hour, it's all over._

They had both overhead the doctor saying as Nancy was being wheeled away. It had been six hours since.

The first hour had been easier. They'd had to call the police, make their statements. By the time they'd gotten back, the hour had been over. They werr expecting Nancy to be awake and well, already ready to move on to her next case.

Instead, they had been told that her condition had deteriorated. Since then, there had been no other updates.

The last look she'd had of her best friend's face, deathly pale and unresponsive kept floating up in Bess's mind.

She shook her head to clear it.

"We should try and contact Mr Drew." She told Ned when he came back to her side and leaned against the wall.

He nodded distractedly but made no attempt to follow through.

She understood. She hadn't been able to do it herself.

What would they tell him? That his only daughter had been poisoned and the doctors weren't sure whether she was going to make it?

Bess glanced over at Ned. He looked awful. Like he could collapse any second. She was pretty sure he hadn't had a wink of sleep in almost two days. She'd barely had any herself.

But she was glad that he was here. She couldn't imagine going through this alone.

"She promised me that she wasn't going to stop fighting." He said quietly, after a while.

Bess didn't know what to reply. Didn't want to think what stopping meant.

It seemed like years later when the doctor came in.

"Mr Nickerson. Miss Marvin." She was smiling.

"How is she?" Ned was in front of her in a flash.

"Thing's looked really bad for a while and truth be told, we really weren't sure. But we've been monitoring her and it's been working. She's going to make a full recovery."

"Oh my God!" They cheered and threw their arms around each other.

"Can we see her?" She asked, unable to contain her excitement.

"In a while. We expect her to wake up soon."

Ned didn't wait.

"I'll be right back" He told her before rushing out of the room.

He was back within minutes, a huge bouquet of flowers in one hand.

It was barely minutes but it felt like hours before they were told they could go in.

"Nancy will be up in a few minutes. But mind you, she's still very weak and probably won't be able to speak much." The doctor warned. "She needs a good night's sleep so you have half an hour. Don't tire her out."

Outside her door, Bess stopped.

"Why don't you go in first?"

"What? Are you sure?" Ned asked, surprise clear on his face.

"Yeah. I'm going to call Hannah and find out if she's managed to contact Mr Drew. I'll be back in a few minutes."

The truth was she wanted him to be there when Nancy regained consciousness. That was the least he deserved.

Ned gave her a grateful smile and quickly went in.

When she finally went in a few minutes later, Nancy was awake, Ned holding her hand and stroking her hair.

"She just told me she feels wonderful. Ready for a new case." He said in mock anger. But his eyes were shining and Bess was pretty sure she hadn't seen him happier than this.

She felt tears stinging her own eyes. Moving quickly to her friend's side, she wrapped her in a long hug.

"You're crazy."

"Thank you. For taking care of me." Nancy whispered weakly to both of them, her eyes already drowsy with sleep.

Bess squeezed her hand.

She knew that this wasn't the last time that Nancy had a brush with death. Not in the least. But for now, she was grateful to God for keeping her best friend alive.

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**_If you liked reading this, please consider leaving a review._**


	23. Chapter 23

**_Nancy and Ned spend some time alone in a hot tub._**

**_Apologies_****_ for the really late update. With me returning to work again and my end semester exams approaching soon, it has been awfully difficult for me to find time to write. I did write a chapter before this but ended up scrapping it because I couldn't get it to come out right. Ultimately, I ended up taking an unplanned break._****_Hopefully, things would be back on track soon but till then it's going to be a little tough for me to keep up with my Saturday-Saturday posting schedule but I'll do my best to post once a fortnight._****_Hope everyone's healthy and doing well!_**

**_Disclaimer: Mature content._**

* * *

Nancy scrutinized herself in the mirror. Considering the events of the night before, she felt lucky to still be in one piece.

And you actually don't look too bad, Drew. She told herself. Some colour had returned to her cheeks and the nasty bruise she'd gotten on her shoulder when their car had overturned had faded to a dull unnoticeable green. The only bathing suit she'd brought was an old black two piece she'd had for at least two years. But she knew it was one of Ned's favourites and she admitted that it did compliment her figure.

After one final glance at herself she let herself out of the changing room.

Ned was already in the hot tub and she saw one corner of his mouth turn up when he saw her. She could feel his warm gaze on her as she turned around to lock the door and all of a sudden she felt hot and tingly all over.

In a couple of weeks, she was going to join him at Emerson. And she couldn't wait.

Ned extended a hand and helped her into the tub. As soon as the warm water hit her weary muscles, Nancy felt the stress from the last few days fade away and she sighed in relief. The murderer in the inn, George's anger at her, Ned's tumble down the slope, the avalanche last night all seemed far, far away.

"This is nice." Ned remarked putting an arm around her.

"Finally feels like a vacation." She agreed, nestling against his shoulder.

They enjoyed the quiet silence and Nancy felt her thoughts drift to the events of the past few months.

The three of them- Bess, George and her were going to start from the Spring semester onwards. The initial reason why she hadn't immediately gone to college after school had been different, and simpler- Bess hadn't gotten into Emerson during the Fall term and she and George hadn't wanted to leave her behind.

But the real reason why she hadn't joined Ned at Emerson had been different. For the last couple of years, Nancy had worked tougher and tougher cases and she'd been mostly successful. It would've been easy for her to get licensed and start working professionally should she chose so. It had had nothing to do regarding her feelings for Ned, but for the longest time she hadn't been sure what she wanted to do for her life.

When Bess had found out that they were offering their courses in spring, she'd insisted they apply and to their surprise all three of them had been accepted this time. Still confused, in the last few months, Nancy had thrown herself into more and more mysteries, sometimes barely hours between two, hoping that it would give her some indication.

The only indication that she had gotten was she that she didn't want to be a detective all her life. At least not professionally. She couldn't imagine doing what she did for money.

And she wanted to live. Lately, she'd had a feeling that a lot of her escapes had been pure luck. Which was bound to run out some day. She'd once joked that she wouldn't live to see her nineteenth birthday and she still remembered how quiet and serious Bess, George and Ned had got.

She had also started becoming more interested in pursuing law. Even her father had agreed that it would be a good career for her. Nancy still hadn't decided for sure but she would have plenty of time to do so during the next four years at college. Three of which would be with Ned at her side.

She knew her unending work had come at the cost of their relationship and when she'd finally had the courage to tell Ned, he had admitted that he had been feeling left out for a while. But at the same time, she'd considered herself incredibly lucky because he had understood her position and how much it mattered to her, assuring her that he would support her no matter what, provided she put in a little more effort.

"What's on your mind, Drew?" She heard him ask.

"Nothing. Just you, me. All the time we'll spend together in a few weeks." She snuggled closer to him and swung an arm around his waist.

"Funny. I was thinking the same."

"Yeah?"

"Come here." He whispered and his deep voice sent a shiver all the up and down her spine.

The past month, it had seemed that a lot of barriers she'd put up between them, and more that had come up on their own due to distance, had suddenly disappeared. Their embraces had become deeper, their kisses longer, his touch..until it was pure effort to just pull away and stop. But at Emerson, away from their parents' house, away from the fear of getting discovered, they didn't need to stop. And that thought filled Nancy with a sense of nervous anticipation.

She let him guide her until her knees were on either side of his hips, straddling him.

"You think we'll get bored? Not have anything to talk about?"

"There's lots of other things you can do other than talk." For second, she lost herself in his dark eyes.

"Like what?"

"Like this." With that, he put his palms on her face and pulled her in a for a kiss.

It started out slow and sweet but before long, he'd deepened it, his tongue sliding against hers, his hands tracing the curves of her body.

She winced when his fingers brushed against the sore spot on her shoulder and Ned immediately pulled back.

"Let me see." He brushed away her hair from that side of her neck and pulled the strings of her bikini a little to the side.

"Every time I think it's the last scar or bruise I'll see on you. And then there's more." He whispered sadly.

"Except this time you were the one to get hurt. How's your leg?"

"It's gotten better. I don't think I'll have to sit out the season." He suddenly smiled. "Not that I would mind a lot if I have to. Just means more time for you and me. This."

His hands moved down to grasp her hips as if in emphasis.

"I didn't know Emerson kept around private Jacuzzis for students to use." Nancy teased.

She ran her palms down his torso. Marvelled at his strong, hard muscles, felt his heart race beneath her fingers

"No Jacuzzis. But we do have showers." He laughed, nuzzling against her.

"Shared shower in a frat house. I'd rather not. And we've never showered together, Nickerson."

"No bad time to start."

She felt her voice hitch in her throat, when his mouth moved down from her neck, between her breasts. The feel of his fingers, wrinkled from the water, against her skin, was so intoxicating, she almost moaned.

And then his lips moved to one nipple, over the fabric of her bikini and she gasped at the sudden sensation.

"Too much?"

"Why don't you take it off?" She managed to croak out.

He raised his eyebrows at her and she managed to hold his stare, raising herself on her knees so he could see her.

His hands moved to her back, fiddling with the strings that held her top and so slowly, so awfully slowly he undid them, never once taking his eyes off her.

Then just as slowly, he peeled the wet fabric of her skin, letting his hands drift over the rise of her breasts and there she was, almost naked in front of him, only her bikini bottom preserving her modesty.

"You're so beautiful, Nan." Ned whispered, and his husky voice and dark eyes made Nancy shudder.

He opened his arms, letting her choose how far she wanted to go.

Blushing, she leaned down and wrapped her arms around his neck and lay her head against his shoulder. The feel of his bare chest against hers was a different sensation in itself.

"Nan?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

She looked at his handsome face, into his brown eyes, fringed with long lashes and the love she saw in them made her insides melt.

"I love you too. Even if I don't say it enough."

Tangling her hands in his hair she kissed him, long and hard until they were both breathless. Then he dipped his head and trailed a line of feather soft kisses along her jaw and down her neck.

When his tongue touched her nipple again, she gasped and arched against him, the feeling new, all her senses heightened.

"You like when I do this?"

"Yes." She managed to say and she saw the tips of his ears turn red.

"I like seeing you like this." He said, his voice low and full of feeling.

He sucked against her neck, just below the level of her usual neckline, using his hands to touch her and oh God..She wanted him so much.

"Hey, not fair!" She said, when he was done, leaning down to kiss his neck, just putting enough pressure to give him a hickey too.

"There. Now, we're matching." She grinned, satisfied with her work.

"You're killing me." Ned laughed, tightening his hold around her waist and she noticed his voice was a little strained.

Nancy's eyes fell on the the little clock on the wall and she groaned. Their one hour was almost over.

"We always end up getting interrupted, don't we." He said, following her eyes.

But an idea had already started forming in Nancy's head. Ned looked at her quizzically when she suddenly got up and grabbed her top from beside the tub.

"Where are you going?"

"I remember someone saying something about a shower." She smiled coyly at him and his eyes went round when he understood what she had implied.

Then a slow, sexy smile came across his lips and he was out of the water and beside her in an instant, his fingers warm against the hollow of her back. She let her nails drift across his incredible, dripping wet body for a second and then he grabbed her hand and kissed it.

Smiling, she turned around and let her boyfriend follow her into the shower.


	24. Chapter 24

**_Ned doesn't let Nancy feel homesick on her nineteenth birthday._**

**_Please Note: _****_Things get pretty explicit in the later part of this chapter. It is nothing like anything I've written in the previous chapters. So if you do not prefer reading such stories, this would be an excellent chapter to skip._**

**_I_****_ debated with myself for two days before finally deciding to post this here mostly because I got a couple of reviews asking for smut. This is my first public smut fic, so any feedback is highly appreciated!_****_Also, should I decide to post similar works later I'll put up a similar disclaimer at the beginning of the chapter._** **_Happy_****_ reading!_**

* * *

"There's my favourite birthday girl!" Strong arms wrapped around Nancy the second she stepped out of her last class of the day.

"I'm the only birthday girl, Ned." She grinned up at her boyfriend, using one hand to return his hug and the other to balance her books.

"Just making sure you're okay. I know you were a little upset." He said while helping her put her books in her bag.

She was. It being a weekday, she hadn't been able to go back to River Heights and she just felt a little homesick. There was no doubt that joining Ned at Emerson had been one of the best decisions she'd ever taken. She also knew that it was part of growing up and one day she would have to leave home.

But for the longest time, it had just been her, her father and Hannah and Nancy missed her small family and their birthday traditions- her father surprising her with breakfast in bed, Hannah making her favourite dishes. For the first time, all that had been replaced with a video call.

"Just miss home a little." She gave him a small smile.

"I know." He took her hand and squeezed it. "I planned something for the afternoon. Hopefully, it'll take your mind off it."

"Where are we going?" She asked as he led her to parking area.

"Somewhere. You'll see." He winked at her.

"At least let me go change into something nice." Nancy looked down at her faded blue jeans and plain button-down top. "I feel underdressed."

"You look beautiful." Ned dropped a kiss on her forehead. "And don't worry. It's nowhere fancy. It'll just be the two of us. In fact, by the end of the day, you might be feeling a little _overdressed_." Nancy caught the sly grin he passed her.

"Well I have you to help me with _that situation_." She winked back.

Ned groaned. "Don't make me want to skip right to the end."

Nancy feigned disappointment. "And here I was just thinking that my boyfriend is so selfless and wonderful." She teased.

"Selfless and wonderful is correct, Miss Drew." They were at his car now and he opened the door for her. "Wait till you see where I'm taking you."

Looking into the backseat Nancy found a picnic basket there.

"So we're going on a picnic?"

"Yes."

"And it will take us a while to return?"

"Definitely."

"Let me guess. They're throwing me a party at Theta Pi and you volunteered to keep me away while they prepare." Nancy spoke aloud what she had been suspecting.

"It's impossible to hide anything from you." Ned chuckled as he started the car.

The three of them had pledged to Theta Pi a month ago. George was Nancy's roommate while Bess lived just across the hall with Leah, another freshman.

"I wouldn't have had a clue. But George made a tiny mistake. She hid the decorations under _my_ bed thinking I wouldn't look in there."

"How is it that she still hasn't discovered that's where you hide your midnight snacks." He laughed.

"Hey! So you were the one who stole my chips!"

"Guilty as charged." Ned grinned and Nancy threw him a friendly punch in the shoulder.

They were out of the campus by now. But instead of turning towards the town, Ned drove the other way.

Slowly, Nancy began to realise where he was taking her. Just a few miles off town, there was a small hill, usually known as the Emerson Hill. Although it was barely more than a mound, one could drive right to the top where the land flattened out. It was a pretty popular picnic spot offering a good view of the lake and the town. They'd been there a couple of times before too.

As the winding road stretched out ahead of them, Nancy started feeling drowsy. She'd slept pretty late last night.

Her head smacking against the windowpane suddenly was what woke her up.

"Sorry!" Ned apologized. "Hang tight. It's gonna get bumpy for a while."

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Nancy got a better look at the road ahead of them. It could be barely called a road with the tarmac gone in more places than where it was present.

"Where are we?"

"It's the old road. The left one when you come at fork at the base of the hill."

Nancy was confused. All she knew was this road had been destroyed years ago, even before she was born, during heavy rains. Nobody took it anymore.

And agreeably so as their car lurched dangerously around a big rock right in the middle of the way.

"And why are we here?"

Just then the path suddenly widened. Ned parked against one side.

"I thought it'd be fun to have a more private picnic spot." He said getting out and grabbing the basket.

Still confused, Nancy looked at their surroundings. The dusty road didn't seem like the ideal spot for a romantic afternoon.

Ned must have read her mind because he chuckled. "Not here, Nan. We still have some way to go. Here." She held the hand he extended.

He led her through a dense thicket before the trees slowly thinned out giving rise to grassy land, and Nancy realised that were following a tiny dirt trail. Their path got progressively higher over the next few minutes until they were almost climbing and she was glad she was wearing sneakers.

They were just about to round a bend when Ned stopped.

"Close your eyes. No peeking."

Nancy did as she was told, holding Ned's hand as he guided her, making sure she kept away from the edge.

"We're here."

Nancy slowly opened her eyes, and gasped at what she saw. They were on a piece of grassy land jutting out from one face of the hill, nearly at the top but absolutely flat like a plateau. The clear day spring day provided a panaromic view of the valley below and the air was heavy with the scent of wildflowers.

"Careful. There's a sharp drop." Ned warned as she looked over the edge.

"It's beautiful." She whispered as he came and wrapped her arms around her from behind.

"I knew you'd like it."

"Best boyfriend ever." She turned and looped her arms around him, touching her lips to his.

"Mhmm. I could get used to hearing that." Ned whispered, drawing her closer.

Suddenly, Nancy's stomach grumbled loudly, immediately followed by Ned's and they broke away giggling.

"And now we gotta feed you."

In the picnic basket, she found a large blanket and a couple of small cushions. Spreading them out on the ground, they settled down and looked through the rest of the contents in the basket.

Ned had gone ahead and thoughtfully brought the book she had been reading and another one for him. At the very bottom, she found the most important thing- a few packed sandwiches, a couple of packets of chips and fruit juice.

"How did you even find this place? I've never heard of it." She asked between bites.

"Believe me. It took me more than once. Do you remember my uncle Henry?"

"The one who lives in Dallas?"

"That's the one. You might not know this but he went to Eastwood."

Nancy nodded. Eastwood was the second college in the district, just a few miles from Emerson.

"Last time we met, he told me about this spot and I was surprised because I'd never heard of it. And nobody I knew did either. So one day I was a little free and I decided to look for it. Took me a couple of tries. Kt wasn't very well known earlier either and I'm guessing people just gradually forgot it existed after the new road was built."

"So you mean to say, nobody knows this place now?" Fed and content, Nancy scooted closer to Ned. He lay down and put his head on her lap.

"I won't say nobody. Last time I was here, there were some remnants of a bonfire but it looked quite old. I'm pretty sure we won't get any company. Especially on a Thursday afternoon. The picnic spot at the top has a better view and is way easier to access."

"But this is more private and I don't know about you but I have a pretty decent view." She looked down at his handsome face and ran a hand through his thick wavy hair.

" Nancy Drew, when did you get so cheesy?" She let him pull her down for a kiss, his lips soft against her. "And just _decent_?"

"I don't know. They say love is blind."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He whispered, his breath warm against her ear.

"Mhmm. Shed that shirt and I'll give you my final judgement."

Nancy gasped when in a fluid motion, he flipped her over onto her back and climbed on top.

"Not fair if I'm the only one." His fingers undid the first two buttons of her shirt and traced a line across her collar. "Can I?"

The second she had nodded her consent, his mouth was on hers and then it moved down, following the path of his hands as they unbuttoned her shirt. Feather soft yet so warm against her skin. Her breath hitched when his tongue traced her navel, the sharp sensation it brought between her legs and she gasped when his fingers moved further down and undid the button of her jeans and pulled down the zipper.

Bunching her fingers in his shirt, Nancy tugged it urgently. Laughing, Ned twisted one arm behind his head and pulled it off. Then sitting back down on his knees, he looked down at her, savouring the sight of her, his eyes darkened with love and desire.

"Now _that_ is a beautiful view." The passion in his voice sent a tremor down her spine.

"Come here." She managed to whisper and he gently drew her knees apart and settled himself between her open legs, their bodies so close that Nancy could physically feel how much he wanted her. Kissing her along her jaw, he ran his thumb in slow circles over nipples and smiled when they peaked under the fabric. His other hand snaked behind her back and before she could move he had her bra off with just flick of his fingers.

The first time they'd done this, about a month ago in his room after long evening of doing homework together, she'd had to turn around and show him. That memory brought a giggle to her lips.

"What are you laughing about, Drew?"

"I remember when you needed both hands to take off my bra."

Ned chuckled. "I'm fast learner." His voice grew deeper and his gaze travelled from her eyes to her lips, down to her bare breasts and back up. "Especially when I'm studying you."

"I might have learned a thing or two myself." She ran her palm across his chest, the hard muscles of his abdomen, over the waistband of his jeans. When she unbuttoned it and reached for the zipper, he sucked in a ragged breath.

"Oh Nan." And then his mouth was on hers, his tongue sliding in while his hands caressed every inch of her body. Her breasts, her ass, up her inner thigh until the throb between her legs grew so much in intensity that it was almost painful.

Ned pulled down her jeans and panties a few inches for better access and she arched against him when he placed his palm between them and cupped the mound of her sex.

"You're already so wet, Nan." He murmured against her lips and she felt a blush rising to her cheeks. This was still so incredibly new to her. This new phase in their relationship, the new intimacy, this part of her that no other man had seen or touched before. And oh, how she craved it. His touch, so gentle but which left a fiery desire in it's wake.

With both of them having roommates, she could count on her fingers, the number of times they'd had this type of opportunity. And they'd all been under the cover of the sheets.

But now under the open sky, where he could see all of her, where she could see all of him...The thought itself was so unbelievably erotic.

When he tentatively slipped a finger inside her, she swallowed her cry of pleasure.

"You don't have to be quiet, baby. Nobody's going to hear us."

"Ohh..ohh. Ned. Right there." She let out the moan she'd been holding back, her lips moving up to join his.

"I love seeing you like this. You're so beautiful, Nancy." Even his husky voice was arousing.

"I like seeing you like this too." She whispered. And she did, his rippling muscles, more defined now from a season of playing baseball, his heavy weight pinning her down despite him supporting himself on one propped arm.

_His eyes._ His dark, dark eyes with the heavy lashes that didn't hide how he felt about her.

She ran her fingers across his back and then down his chest and he helped her pull his jeans and boxers down. When her hand palmed the thick, hard length of him, he groaned low in his throat, his long fingers moving deeper in and out out of her.

Wetting her hands with saliva, she stroked him, slowly first and then matching the rhythm of his fingers as they penetrated her. When he moaned in encouragement, the sound sent a delicious tremble all the way down her body. In the beginning, when she had been too shy to touch him, it had amazed her that he was content with just pleasuring her. But now she understood. That look in his face, his heavy lidded eyes, the power and fierce love she felt in knowing that she could make him feel this way. That she was the only woman who'd ever touched him. She wanted nothing more.

He was so incredibly big. She was still a little anxious about taking him inside her.

But soon, _very soon_ she was going to be ready to give it all to him. Because this, two of his fingers curled up tight inside her while his thumb stroked her clit. That awfully amazing tension inside her growing, her inner muscles already clenching around him. This, he felt so fucking good.

He kissed her lips, hot and hungry, the hollow at the base of her throat. When he sucked one nipple into his mouth, her hips bucked up against his hand.

_So close._ Almost there.

"Just like that, Nan." Ned whispered, his voice strained as she increased the pace of her hands to match his. "Look at me, baby."

She forced herself to open her eyes and hold his gaze. Memorising him. Learning together, learning each other. The length of him pulsing in her palm. His lips parted in desire.

"Ohhh."

She was _so close_. Andd..

When it became impossible to hold back her climax any longer, she closed her eyes and cried out his name as she let herself come. Ned captured her mouth in a fierce kiss and just seconds later, let himself go too in the cup of her hand.

"_Ohh Nancy_." He moaned as he gently collapsed on top of her, his fingers still deep inside her spasming flesh.

For a long time, neither of them could move. A few minutes later, after finally mustering some energy, they cleaned up with some tissues and help each other redress. Then laying back down on the blanket, she let him pull her against him. Looping her arms around him, she pressed her cheek against his chest, a giddy feeling in her belly. Lulled by the sound of his heart beating against her ears and feel of his hand tenderly stroking her back, Nancy finally let the exhaustion overcome her.

Ned gently shaking her was what woke her up. Blinking, she looked up to find him looking down at her lovingly.

"You look adorable when you sleep."

"And you woke me up to tell me that?"

"I wouldn't dare." He chuckled. "But Bess just texted and she has threatened to kill me if we're late."

Nancy looked at her watch. They had been asleep for over one and a half hours.

"Can't we stay a little while longer?"

"There's nothing I want to do more. But Theta Pi put in a lot of effort planning the party and they'd be disappointed." Even as he was saying this, he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her and Nancy smiled. "But maybe just a few minutes wouldn't matter.."

"Ned?"

"Hmm."

"_I love you_."

He cupped her cheek and ran a thumb across her lower lip. "I love you too, Nancy. You have no idea just how much." He said as he pressed a soft kiss against her lips.

"I do. Because you're the sweetest, most thoughtful person I know. Because you planned an incredible afternoon for me. Because you're so good at..what we did after... which was just.."

"Mind blowing." He finished for her. "You were so amazing, Nan. I can't wait for the next time." He looked right into her eyes.

"Maybe you don't have to wait too long. I have an offer."

"I'm listening."

"Maybe if you could find some excuse to get rid of your roommate for the night, we could umm repeat the afternoon."

"Howie has gone home for a couple of days. I'm sure he won't mind if Alan crashed in his room for the night." He held her gaze.

"Perfect. But I'll only come if you promise me something." She tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed his cheek.

"Anything."

Nancy blushed. "You have to promise not to tell anyone about this place. So that we don't get any visitors when we come here once in a while for more such..._picnics_."

Ned smiled. Then winking, he pressed a kiss against her hand.

"You have a deal."


End file.
